WASHINGTON, The United States has extended the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haiti for an additional 18 months “due to extraordinary and temporary conditions in Haiti.”
US Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas also “redesignated Haiti for TPS,” allowing Haitian nationals residing in the United States, as of November 6, 2022, to apply for TPS through August 3, 2024, “so long as they meet all eligibility requirements.
“It is important to note that Haitians entering the United States after November 6, 2022, are not eligible for TPS and, like other individuals without a legal basis to remain in the United States, will be subject to removal,” Mayorkas said in a statement.
“To repeat: Haitians entering the United States after November 6, 2022, including those who might be considering entering now, are not eligible for TPS. We are providing much-needed humanitarian relief to Haitian nationals already present in the United States.
“The conditions in Haiti, including socioeconomic challenges, political instability, and gang violence and crime – aggravated by environmental disaster – compelled the humanitarian relief we are providing today,” he added.
The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said Mayorkas extended and redesignated Haiti for TPS after consultation with interagency partners and “careful consideration of the extraordinary and temporary conditions in Haiti, including a prolonged political crisis; grave insecurity and gang crime that worsened a dire economic situation; a lack of access to food, water, fuel, and health care during a resurgence of cholera; and the recent catastrophic earthquakes.
“It is….important to note that TPS will apply only to those individuals who already have been residing in the United States as of November 6, 2022, and who meet all other requirements,” the statement said, noting that “those who attempt to travel to the United States after this announcement will not be eligible for TPS and, if they enter irregularly or without legal authorization, will be subject to repatriation.”
DHS said a soon-to-be-published Federal Register notice would explain the eligibility criteria, timelines, and procedures necessary for current beneficiaries to re-register and renew Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) and for new applicants to submit an initial application under the redesignation and apply for an EAD.
US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York, hailed the DHS announcement.
“I’m proud the Biden administration heeded my call to extend Temporary Protected Status for Haiti and redesignate Haiti for TPS, protecting Haitians in New York and across the country,” he told the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC).
“Providing temporary protection to Haitian nationals in the United States is critically important as Haiti continues to face extreme physical conditions and deteriorating political instability,” he added, noting that concurrent crises, including political unrest, food insecurity, and environmental disaster, have left millions of Haitians in need of assistance.
“Congress created Temporary Protected Status to keep people from harm. Today’s action will grant more than 100,000 Haitians in the US the opportunity to gain Temporary Protected Status and to receive that protection in America,” Schumer added.
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