Washington, DC -- Congressman Eliot Engel joined congressional colleagues in asking President Obama to extend the Temporary Protective Status now granted Haitians in the United States whose visas have expired saying that forcing them to return to Haiti would only strain that poor country’s resources while it is still rebuilding after the devastating earthquake.

Rep. Engel, who is Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, said that the TPS will end on July 22^nd but that Haiti is unable to absorb any additional people. Conditions in that country, the poorest in the western hemisphere, remain extremely dangerous.

He said, “There are over 1,400 tent cities, housing more than 800,000 people, with only one port-a-toilet for every 80 persons. Bottled water is limited and there has been an outbreak of cholera which has killed thousands.

“The tent cities are occupied by mostly women and children and rapes of girls and women by armed men occur nightly in tent cities all over the country.”

He said the earthquake was so devastating to the island’s infrastructure that there are few habitable buildings standing, and most importantly, no jobs.

“We cannot deport people to Haiti where cholera has broken out, with hundreds of thousands of orphans, and streets filled with beggars,” he said.

Allowing Haitians who are here to stay and allow them to work would mean they could send all-important remittances back home. That way they would be helping Haiti, and not be another drain on its limited resources.

On January 12, 2010, Haiti experienced an earthquake of catastrophic proportions that killed over 250,000 people, displaced 1.3 million (more than one-tenth of the population) and caused upwards of $14 billion in economic damage.  In the face of such devastation, the U.S. government acted swiftly to protect Haitian nationals residing in the United States by designating Haiti for TPS.

The Department of State warned against travel to Haiti, citing the high rates of violent crime, the cholera outbreak, political instability, and an insufficient police and medical system. 

 (A copy of the letter to President Obama is attached signed by members of the Congressional Black Caucus.)

May 11, 2011

President Barack Obama
The White House

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20502

Dear President Obama:

 We thank your Administration for designating Haiti for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) in January 2010.  This designation has allowed some 50,000 Haitians to remain in the United States and assist their home country as it continues to recover from the earthquake.  Importantly, by providing work authorization, TPS allows Haitians to work and send remittances to family members to aid in Haiti’s reconstruction. 

 Given the success of TPS for Haiti, we request that your Administration not only renew the designation but also “redesignate” Haiti under the TPS statute.  This would allow Haitians who arrived in the U.S. after the earthquake—many for humanitarian reasons under the Secretary of Homeland Security’s parole authority—to also apply for the humanitarian protection that TPS provides.  We believe such redesignation is warranted given the scale of the devastation in Haiti, the slow pace of recovery, and the new challenges that have arisen in Haiti over the past year.

Unfortunately, as Haiti has been attempting to recover from the earthquake, it has seen additional, unwanted challenges.  In October 2010, Haiti was hit with a virulent cholera outbreak.  Since then, thousands of Haitians have died and many hundreds of thousands more have been sickened.  The strain of cholera, which can kill in just a few hours, has put further strain on the already fragile medical system. 

 The Secretary of Homeland Security may designate a country for TPS if “there exist extraordinary and temporary conditions  . . . that prevent aliens who are nationals of the state from returning to the state in safety.” INA § 244(b)(1)(C).  Haiti remains a country in crisis and safe return is not possible.  Deporting Haitians who arrived too late to register for TPS would place at risk the lives of those being returned.  And leaving them in limbo—allowing these Haitians to remain but without TPS status—is not a solution.  Based on the above, we respectfully request that the Administration redesignate Haiti for TPS. 

 Thank you for your attention to this matter.  We look forward to your response.

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