USCCB
Migration and Refugee Services Releases Report Recommending Extension of
Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haiti
November 7, 2017
WASHINGTON—The
U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Office of Migration
and Refugee Services (USCCB/MRS), released its report today, entitled Haiti’s Ongoing Road to Recovery:
The
Necessity of an Extension of Temporary Protected Status,
recommending the U.S. government extend Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for
Haiti.
Bishop Joe S.
Vásquez of Austin, Texas, Chairman of the USCCB Committee on Migration, in a
letter introducing the report, states: “[W]hile conditions in Haiti are
improving, the country is not yet in a position where it can adequately and
safely accept return of the estimated 50,000 Haitian nationals who have
received TPS.”
A delegation
from USCCB/MRS traveled to Haiti, from September 4-7, 2017, to examine the
progress Haiti had made since its initial designation for TPS in 2010 and the
challenges that remain. The delegation also assessed the ability of the country
to safely accept and reintegrate returned nationals should TPS for Haiti be
terminated. USCCB/MRS Committee Member, Archbishop Thomas Wenski of Miami,
Florida, led the delegation and was accompanied by Bishop
Launay Saturné of Jacmel, Haiti, as well as staff from MRS and the Catholic
Legal Immigration Network, Inc.
Currently, there
are an estimated 50,000 Haitians living in the U.S. with TPS. Through its work
in Haiti and in the United States, the Catholic Church knows these individuals
to be hardworking contributors to American communities, Catholic parishes, and
our nation. Unfortunately, Haitian TPS recipients are living in a state of
uncertainty and flux as Haiti’s current TPS designation is set to expire on
January 22, 2018, with the Administration required to make a decision to extend
or terminate the status by November 23, 2017.
Bishop Vásquez
states in his introductory letter: “We urge the Administration to provide an
18-month extension of TPS for Haiti to ensure recipients’ continued protection
while their country rebuilds. We further urge Congress to work in a bipartisan
manner to find a legislative solution for TPS recipients who have been in the
United States for many years.”
This report and other resources related to TPS are
available on the Justice for Immigrants website at: www.justiceforimmigrants.org.
Resources include a backgrounder on TPS, a toolkit for Catholic leaders that
offers ideas on how to show their support and solidarity with TPS recipients,
and the USCCB/MRS report on TPS for El Salvador and Honduras.
The full text of the Haiti report can be found at:
http://www.usccb.org/about/migration-policy/fact-finding-mission-reports/upload/mrs-haiti-trip-report.pdf.
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Keywords:
U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, USCCB, Bishop Joe S. Vásquez, Archbishop
Thomas Wenski, Temporary Protected Status (TPS), Bishop Launay Saturné of
Jacmel, Haiti, U.S. Congress, legislative solution, Justice for Immigrants, El
Salvador, Honduras.
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Media Contact:
Judy Keane
202-541-3200