Action Alert: Temporary Protected Status for Haiti

Written on: May 21, 2021

The Grey Nuns of the Sacred Heart are committed to be signs of God’s unconditional love as we collaborate to create a more just and compassionate world.

Therefore we call upon Congress to immediately re-designate Temporary Protected Status (“TPS”) to Haiti.

Temporary Protected Status (TPS) is a temporary migration status for people in need. It was created by Congress to allow individuals already in the United States to remain if something catastrophic happens in their country of origin to prevent safe return. By creating this status Congress recognized our country’s obligation to prevent and to protect vulnerable people from crisis in their home countries.

Haiti is currently experiencing one of the worst outbreaks of violence in decades. They are facing widespread kidnapping, extortion, and violence. Crime is committed with impunity, and the lack of rule of law makes it impossible to hold anyone accountable.  COVID-19 has exacerbated existing humanitarian and political crises. Currently, Haiti’s health infrastructure is limited and underfunded, unable to address the increasing number of COVID-19 cases. UNICEF estimates that nearly 40 percent of the Haitian population is food insecure, including an estimated 167,000 children experiencing acute malnutrition.

Congress must re-designate Temporary Protected Status to Haiti before the expiration date of October 4, 2021. Without re-designation, Haitian nationals in the US, including children, will be returned to a country that cannot safely receive them and where they are likely to experience great harm.

This entry was posted in With a Heart for Justice and tagged: Biden Administration, catastrophic, Congress, country, Covid-19, crime, extortion, food insecure, Haiti, humanitarian crisis, kidnapping, malnutrition, political crisis, Temporary Protected Status, UNICEF, United States, violence, vulnerable people