NEW YORK, CMC—Caribbean American Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke and immigration advocates in New York on Friday welcomed the Biden administration’s 18-month extension and redesignation of Haiti for Temporary Protected Status (TPS).
On Friday, United States Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas announced the extension and redesignation of Haiti for TPS from Aug. 4, 2024, to Feb. 3, 2026, “due to extraordinary and temporary conditions in Haiti.”
“The administration’s action to redesignate and extend Temporary Protected Status for Haitians residing in our nation could not come at a more pivotal moment,” Clarke, the daughter of Jamaican immigrants, told the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC). “For years, our cherished Caribbean ally has remained in the grips of a devastating and destructive series of political, economic, and violent crises.
“It would be unconscionable for the United States to have returned innocent families to the dire and dangerous situation that Haiti is currently confronting,” added the representative for the predominantly Caribbean 9th Congressional District in Brooklyn, New York. “Thankfully, today’s decision will provide an estimated 309,000 Haitian nationals the safety and security they deserve while their country works to overcome its ongoing struggles.
“I am grateful to Secretary Mayorkas for both his dedication to protecting vulnerable communities from tragic human rights abuses and his devotion to upholding our foundational principle that this nation must remain a sanctuary for those seeking relief and refuge from persecution,” Clarke continued. “The United States owes a debt to Haiti – and this necessary decision represents but one step in the long road to repaying it.”
Murad Awawdeh – president and chief executive officer of the New York Immigration Coalition (NYIC), an umbrella policy and advocacy organization that represents over 200 immigrant and refugee rights groups throughout New York – also told CMC that the extension and redesignation of TPS for Haiti is “a vital step to ensure that Haitian New Yorkers can maintain the safety and security they deserve, as their home country conditions remain unstable.”
Awawdeh noted that New York City has one of the largest concentrations of Haitians in the United States and one of the oldest established Haitian communities in the country.
“Throughout the state, New York has gained new neighbors and community members from Haiti,” he said.
But while he applauded the Biden administration for “recognizing the urgency of the situation on the ground in Haiti,” he urged leadership in the US Congress and the White House to “take necessary action and establish a permanent pathway to citizenship for Haitian Americans and so many others who live with the uncertainty of what the future will bring when they only have temporary relief.”
After consultation with interagency partners, Mayorkas said he determined on Jun. 3, 2024, that an 18-month extension and redesignation of Haiti for TPS is “warranted because conditions that support Haiti’s designation are ongoing and that doing so was not contrary to the national interest of the United States.
“Several regions in Haiti continue to face violence or insecurity, and many have limited access to safety, health care, food, and water,” he said. “Haiti is particularly prone to flooding and mudslides and often experiences significant damage due to storms, flooding, and earthquakes. These overlapping humanitarian challenges have resulted in ongoing urgent humanitarian needs.
“We are providing this humanitarian relief to Haitians already present in the United States given the conditions that existed in their home country as of Jun. 3, 2024,” Mayorkas added. “In doing so, we are realizing the core objective of the TPS law and our obligation to fulfill it.”
He said the redesignation of Haiti for TPS allows an estimated 309,000 additional Haitian nationals (or individuals having no nationality who last habitually resided in Haiti) to file initial applications for TPS if they are otherwise eligible and if they established residence in the United States on or before Jun. 3, 2024, and have continued to reside in the United States since then (“continuous residence”).
Mayorkas said eligible individuals who do not have TPS may submit an initial Form I-821, Application for Temporary Protected Status, during the initial registration period from July 1, 2024, through Feb. 3, 2026.
He said applicants may also apply for TPS-related Employment Authorization Documents (EAD) and travel authorization.
Mayorkas said applicants can request an EAD by submitting a completed Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, with their Form I-821 or separately later.
He said Haitians who were not residing in the United States on or before June 3, 2024, are not eligible for such protection and will face removal to Haiti if they do not establish a legal basis to stay.
Mayorkas said extending TPS for Haiti allows current beneficiaries to retain TPS through Feb. 3, 2026, if they continue to meet TPS eligibility requirements.
“Current beneficiaries under TPS for Haiti must re-register promptly during the 60-day re-registration period from July 1, 2024, through Aug. 30, 2024, to ensure they keep their TPS and employment authorization,” he warned. “Re-registration is limited to individuals who previously registered for and were granted TPS under Haiti’s initial designation.”
The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said it recognizes that not all re-registrants who apply for a new EAD may receive it before their current EAD expires and is automatically extending through Aug. 3, 2025, the validity of certain EADs previously issued under Haiti’s TPS designation.
“If you have one of these EADs, to get an EAD that is valid after Aug. 3, 2025, you must re-register for TPS and file Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, following the instructions in the Federal Register notice extending and redesignating Haiti for TPS through Feb. 3, 2026,” DHS said. “If US Citizenship and Immigration Services approves your newly filed Form I-765, USCIS will issue you an EAD valid through Feb. 3, 2026.”
DHS said USCIS will continue to process pending applications filed under previous TPS designations for Haiti.
It said individuals with a pending Form I-821, Application for Temporary Protected Status, or a related Form I-765, as of July 1, 2024, do not need to file either application again.
DHS said if USCIS approves a pending Form I-821 or Form I-765 filed under the previous designation of TPS for Haiti, USCIS will grant the individual TPS through Feb. 3, 2026, and issue an EAD valid through the same date.
DHS said this extension and redesignation do not apply to anyone not already in the United States on June 3, 2024, adding that “consequences continue to be enforced on those attempting to cross unlawfully or without authorization into the United States.”
Since the Securing the Border Presidential Proclamation and Interim Final Rule was issued in early June, DHS disclosed that over 24,000 noncitizens have been removed or returned to more than 20 countries.
“All irregular migration journeys, especially maritime routes, are perilous, unforgiving, and often result in loss of life,” it said, adding that it will “continue to enforce US laws and policy throughout the Florida Straits and the Caribbean region, as well as at the southwest border.
“US policy is to return noncitizens who do not establish a legal basis to remain in the United States,” DHS continued.
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