Letter to Barack Obama, President of the United States - Requesting One-Year Extension of Temporary Protected Status

Letter

During a meeting with President Obama and the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), Congresswoman Frederica Wilson (FL-17) hand-delivered a letter to the President requesting a one-year extension of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and redesignation of the policy to include Haitians who arrived in the U.S. after last year's devastating earthquake. She hopes to ultimately halt all deportations to Haiti and provide Haitians living in the U.S. with the level of safety and certainty they need and deserve.

"Haiti remains a country in crisis and safe return is not possible," said Wilson. "Deporting Haitians who arrived too late to register for TPS would place at risk the lives of those being returned. And leaving them in limbo -- allowing these Haitians to remain but without TPS status --is not a solution."

The Congresswoman recently returned from Haiti, where she had an opportunity to see first-hand conditions on the ground and meet with President-elect Martelly and members of Parliament.

TPS has allowed some 50,000 Haitians to remain in the United States and assist their home country as it continues to recover from the earthquake. Most importantly, by providing work authorization, TPS allows Haitians to work and send remittances to family members to aid in Haiti's reconstruction.

A copy of the letter is attached and full text may be found below:

--

May 11, 2011

President Barack Obama
The White House

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20502

Dear President Obama:

We thank your Administration for designating Haiti for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) in January 2010. This designation has allowed some 50,000 Haitians to remain in the United States and assist their home country as it continues to recover from the earthquake. Importantly, by providing work authorization, TPS allows Haitians to work and send remittances to family members to aid in Haiti's reconstruction.

Given the success of TPS for Haiti, we request that your Administration not only renew the designation but also "redesignate" Haiti under the TPS statute. This would allow Haitians who arrived in the U.S. after the earthquake--many for humanitarian reasons under the Secretary of Homeland Security's parole authority--to also apply for the humanitarian protection that TPS provides. We believe such redesignation is warranted given the scale of the devastation in Haiti, the slow pace of recovery, and the new challenges that have arisen in Haiti over the past year.

On January 12, 2010, Haiti experienced an earthquake of catastrophic proportions that killed over 250,000 people, displaced 1.3 million (more than one-tenth of Haiti's total population) and caused upwards of $14 billion in economic damage. In the face of such devastation, the U.S. government acted swiftly to protect Haitian nationals residing in the United States by designating Haiti for TPS.

Unfortunately, as Haiti has been attempting to recover from the earthquake, it has seen additional, unwanted challenges. In October 2010, Haiti was hit with a virulent cholera outbreak. Since then, thousands of Haitians have died and many hundreds of thousands more have been sickened. The strain of cholera, which can kill in just a few hours, has put further strain on the already fragile medical system.

Recognizing the dangerous and unpredictable situation in Haiti, the U.S. Department of State has warned against travel to Haiti, citing the high rates of violent crime, the cholera outbreak, political instability, and an insufficient police and medical system.

The Secretary of Homeland Security may designate a country for TPS if "there exist extraordinary and temporary conditions . . . that prevent aliens who are nationals of the state from returning to the state in safety." INA § 244(b)(1)(C). Haiti remains a country in crisis and safe return is not possible. Deporting Haitians who arrived too late to register for TPS would place at risk the lives of those being returned. And leaving them in limbo--allowing these Haitians to remain but without TPS status--is not a solution. Based on the above, we respectfully request that the Administration redesignate Haiti for TPS.

Thank you for your attention to this matter. We look forward to your response.

Sincerely,

Frederica S. Wilson

Source