The letter puts more pressure on President Joe Biden at a time when Haiti faces increased political instability and higher rates of kidnapping and violent crime.
Democratic Sen. Robert Menendez and his Republican colleague, Marco Rubio, called on the Biden administration Friday to issue a new round of deportation protections for Haitian immigrants in the US due to the deteriorating situation in their home country, according to a letter obtained by BuzzFeed News.
The senators want a new round of Temporary Protected Status protections for Haitians in the US. The letter puts more pressure on President Joe Biden at a time when Haiti faces increased political instability and higher rates of kidnapping and violent crime.
“We write to express our deep concern about the complicated economic, security, and humanitarian challenges in Haiti and respectfully request that you consider redesignating Haiti for Temporary Protected Status (TPS). Haiti’s protracted political crisis exacerbates the severe and prolonged humanitarian needs sparked by the 2010 earthquake,” the senators wrote in a letter intended for Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. “While the Government of Haiti has been able to receive limited numbers of Haitian nationals removed from the United States, it lacks the capacity to provide the needed reception and care for tens of thousands of returnees.”
Such a redesignation would expand the pool of Haitians in the US eligible for the TPS program. Continue reading