The Senate is considering a House-passed bill that would designate Haiti for temporary protected status until 2029.
Archbishop Thomas Wenski of Miami and bishops across Ohio are calling for extended Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haitians living in the United States and are urging a more permanent solution to care for refugees.
In April, the U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation, H.R. 1689, that would extend TPS for Haitians for three more years, which is “a critical lifeline for those desperate to avoid returning to the chaos on the island nation,” Wenski said in a column for the Archdiocese of Miami. Senate consideration is next.
TPS is an immigration status granted to eligible foreign nationals from designated countries that are unsafe to return to due to ongoing conflict, environmental disasters, or other extraordinary conditions.
In 2025, then-Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem terminated the TPS designation for migrants from Syria, Haiti, and other countries.
To combat the termination, the bill, which needs Senate approval to take effect, would provide “a reprieve to the more than 350,000 Haitians who today live and work legally in the United States under the protection of TPS,” Wenski said.
“Every single day, I see the
