Washington, DC -- Congressman Eliot Engel (D-NY-17) praised the efforts of the American Jewish World Service (AJWS) and the Haiti Advocacy Working Group, which worked diligently in the last year to help Haiti recover from the devastating earthquake that rocked the nation a little over a year ago.  Rep. Engel attended “Haiti Advocacy Day” in Washington on March 30, 2011 where AJWS said that in the first six months after the disaster, it received $6.2 million in contributions from 28,000 donors.

“I applaud the hard-working and selfless people at AJWS who have made a real difference in the lives of the Haitian people.  Due to my many interactions with the Haitian people through my subcommittee hearings, visits to the island and from my many friends in the Haitian-American community in my district, I have great affection for the Haitian people and I know of their long history of suffering the nation has endured.  The Haitian people have great determination and in time they will recover and forge a stronger Haiti than ever before,” said Rep. Engel, the Ranking Member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee’s Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere.

He added, “I called for President Obama to grant Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to Haitian nationals living in the United States, and I am pleased that he agreed.  With TPS now in place, I cannot stress more strongly that no one should be deported back to Haiti while it recovers from the earthquake.”

###