WASHINGTON, DC – Members of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) have pledged to continuing legislative, legal and advocacy efforts to protect Temporary Protected Status (TPS) in the US.
The CBC members have also committed to support impacted families and hold the Trump administration accountable for its actions.
The decision came after the US Supreme Court late last month acquiesced to the administration’s demand to terminate TPS for Haitians and Syrians residing in the US.
In the wake of the Supreme Court’s conservative-led 6-3 ruling, about 350,000 Haitian TPS holders and more than 1.3 million TPS holders and their family members face increasing uncertainty and the risk of deportation.
As America celebrated its 250th Independence Anniversary over the weekend, the CBC, in partnership with the San Diego, Californian-based Haitian Bridge Alliance (HBA), hosted an emergency national virtual town hall with stakeholders and members of the Haitian community to discuss the implications of the US Supreme Court’s ruling in Mullin v. Doe, which allows the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to proceed with terminating TPS for Haitian and Syrian nationals.
The CBC and HBA welcomed more than 500 participants to the emergency town hall, including TPS holders, immigrant families, members of the US Congress, immigration attorneys, labor leaders, faith leaders, national advocacy leaders, and community partners from across the United States.
Participants examined the legal, humanitarian, economic and public policy implications of the decision, discussed ongoing litigation and congressional efforts, including S. 4814, and identified coordinated national strategies to protect TPS holders and their families.
The town hall reflected on the CBC’s yearslong commitment to advocating for Haitian immigrants and TPS holders.
“This national town hall comes at a dark moment in our nation’s history,” said CBC Chair Yvette D. Clarke, the daughter of Jamaican immigrants, who represents the predominantly Caribbean 9th Congressional District in Brooklyn, New York.
“The Supreme Court’s decision allowing the Trump administration to move forward with terminating Temporary Protected Status for Haitian and Syrian immigrants has created tremendous fear and uncertainty for hundreds of thousands of families across our country,” she added. “The Congressional Black Caucus has been clear in our opposition to the administration’s efforts to terminate TPS.
“We believe these actions are not only deeply harmful but fundamentally inconsistent with our nation’s values,” Clarke continued. “America should be a place that offers protection to those fleeing humanitarian crises—not one that turns its back on vulnerable famil
