House Passes Extension of Haitian Deportation Protections

House lawmakers voted Thursday to direct the Department of Homeland Security to extend temporary humanitarian protections for several hundred thousand Haitians in the US.

The chamber approved a bipartisan bill (H.R. 1689) on Temporary Protected Status by a 224-204 vote in the face of Trump administration efforts to eliminate that relief for immigrants. Ten Republicans supported the bill, but its prospects are dim in the GOP-controlled Senate.

The vote comes as the US Supreme Court is set to hear arguments later this month over Trump plans to axe TPS for 350,000 Haitians and another 6,000 Syrians in the US. The government made an emergency request to lift lower court orders blocking it from terminating protections for those immigrants.

The TPS program allows foreign nationals without another lawful status to remain in the US for up to 18 months when their home countries are deemed unsafe because of conditions like armed conflict. DHS has nixed Temporary Protected Status designations for 13 countries so far as part of its mass deportation agenda, drawing numerous court challenges. How the justices rule in the case could have major implications for immigrants’ ability to challenge removal of those humanitarian protections in the future.

Health-care providers, economists, and local governments have warned the Supreme Court about damaging consequences of lifting the protections. Haitian TPS holders in particular comprise a major share of the direct care workforce in states like Florida.

Under the House bill, DHS would be required to designate Haiti for TPS until January 20, 2029.

Progressive Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) was able to force the vote by using a discharge petition, a mechanism by which a member can trigger floor action if 218 lawmakers sign on. Four Republicans—Reps. Mike Lawler (N.Y.), Brian Fitzpatrick (Pa.), Maria Elvira Salazar (Fla.), and Don Bacon (Neb.)—joined the petition in February and March.

Discharge petitions were rarely successful until recently, with majority signatures seen as a rebellion against leadership. But Democrats have joined with a handful of Republicans during this Congress to force votes on releasing files related to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, restoring union protections to federal workers, and more. Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) opposes the use of discharge petitions to circumvent GOP leadership.