Biden Administration Honors Pledge to Restore TPS for Haiti

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Shin Inouye, [email protected], 202.869.0398

WASHINGTON – Wade Henderson, interim president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, issued the following statement after Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas announced that the Biden administration will redesignate Haiti for Temporary Protected Status (TPS):

“We applaud Secretary Mayorkas and the Biden administration for honoring their pledge to reinstate TPS for Haiti. This humanitarian step is long overdue and the right thing to do. Offering help, safety, and security to those in need is foundational to our nation’s values. Overt discrimination toward Haitian immigrants in our nation is nothing new, but this decision helps correct that wrong. Now it is up to Congress to provide a permanent pathway to citizenship that respects the dignity of all people living in our country.”

The Leadership Conference, along with more than 100 organizations, this week urged the administration to redesignate Haiti for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) considering the country’s widespread violence, civil and political unrest, economic and humanitarian strife, the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, and a lack of available vaccines.

The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights is a coalition charged by its diverse membership of more than 220 national organizations to promote and protect the rights of all persons in the United States. The Leadership Conference works toward an America as good as its ideals. For more information on The Leadership Conference and its member organizations, visit www.civilrights.org.