By David L. Snelling
The U.S. House of Representatives voted to extend Temporary Protection Status (TPS) for roughly 350,000 Haitians nationwide, striking a blow to President Trump’s bid to terminate their protection status.
The House approved a measure, 224-2-4, with some Republicans joining Democrats to extend TPS for Haitian for three years.
The House vote was forced by a bipartisan petition signed by lawmakers despite the objections of GOP leadership.
The extension of TPS to Haiti will go to the Senate, where passage is uncertain.
The Trump administration has been trying to strip Haitians of their TPS through an executive order despite pleas from Democrats that they face imminent danger if they return to the gang-torn Caribbean nation.
A federal court temporarily blocked Trump from immediately terminating TPS in February and the President asked the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene.
The highest court in the nation is set to hear arguments this month or in May.
The House is now calling on the U.S. Senate to approve the measure to allow Haitians to continue to work and live in the U.S., though it is expected to be an uphill battle.
Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., who was endorsed by President Donald Trump, supported the extension measure as the administration has sought to terminate the protected status.
“The situation in Haiti is deteriorating, not improving, and the families here in our communities like Spring Valley and beyond deserve certainty, not chaos,” Lawler said.
TPS was granted to Haitians that allowed them to flee Haiti which has been declared a state of emergency by the State Department due to the gang violence spiraling out of control.
Some Haitians under TPS came to the U.S. in the wake of the 2010 devastating earthquake that took the lives of an estimated 300,000 people and caused over $8 billion in damage. To date, the nation has not recovered.
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