Communities United for Status & Protection (CUSP) calls on all members of the U.S. House of Representatives to vote YES on H.R. 1689, as amended by H. Res. 965 and H.R. 1689, to designate Haiti for Temporary Protected Status (TPS). As a national collaborative of grassroots, immigrant-led organizations, CUSP represents the communities at the center of this fight—the Haitian families, workers, and neighbors whose lives depend on the outcome of this vote.
Our member organizations, African Communities Together, Adhikaar for Human Rights & Social Justice, Haitian Bridge Alliance, the National Network for Arab American Communities, and UndocuBlack Network—work alongside more than 350,000 Haitian TPS holders who have built lives in communities across the country. They are parents, healthcare workers, faith leaders, and small business owners. They have put down roots, contributed to their neighborhoods, and made this country stronger. What they need from Congress is action now.
The DHS Secretary’s termination of TPS for Haiti on July 1, 2025, put hundreds of thousands of people in danger of deportation to a country the State Department classifies as Level 4: Do Not Travel. Haiti has been under a state of emergency since March 2024, with more than 6.4 million people in need of humanitarian assistance and over 1.45 million internally displaced. The U.S. has evacuated all non-emergency personnel. Forcing people back into these conditions—people who have spent years building stability here—is unconscionable.
Voting YES on H.Res. 965 and H.R. 1689 would:
- Protect the right of families to stay together and thrive where they are. Haitian TPS holders are raising U.S. citizen children, caring for aging parents, and sustaining their communities. They are not asking for something extraordinary—they are asking to continue the lives they have already built. Stripping their status forces families apart and sends people to a country that cannot safely receive them.
- Preserve the freedom to work and sustain the industries that depend on these workers. Haitian TPS holders contribute nearly $6 billion to the U.S. economy each year and pay $1.56 billion in taxes annually. They fill essential roles in healthcare, hospitality, construction, food processing, and other sectors facing critical labor shortages—helping fill approximately 111,000 healthcare positions nationwide, many in areas of greatest need. As HHS Secretary Kennedy has acknowledged, there is already a shortage of healthcare workers. A mass deportation of Haitian TPS holders would worsen the caregiver crisis, strain businesses, and reduce local tax bases.
- End the uncertainty and let communities move forward. Since the termination announcement, Haitian TPS holders have lived in limbo—unable to plan, unable to invest in their futures, unable to fully contribute to the places they call home. A YES vote would restore stability and allow these communities to continue transforming the neighborhoods, industries, and institutions they are part of. This vote also comes as the Supreme Court prepares to hear oral arguments in two landmark TPS cases—Miot v. Trump (Haiti) and Dahlia Doe v. Noem (Syria)—on April 29. A strong vote from Congress would send a powerful signal alongside the courts.
The administration’s own words undermine its case for termination:
Even within this administration, officials have acknowledged the reality that Haiti cannot safely absorb returnees. The State Department continues to classify Haiti as Level 4: Do Not Travel. U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz has described gangs “terrorizing communities, extorting families, recruiting children,” and warned that the crisis threatens “the stability of the wider Caribbean and the Western Hemisphere.” The Chair of the Ways and Means Committee has pointed to Haiti’s economic fragility as a regional security concern. These are not conditions under which a responsible government strips protection from 350,000 people and forces them onto planes. The administration’s own assessments make the case for extending TPS—even as it moves to terminate it.
The discharge petition’s 218 signatures proved that this support is real. Now we need 290 votes on the floor to secure a veto-proof majority and ensure this bill becomes law. Every vote matters.
CUSP urges every member of the House to stand with Haitian communities and vote YES on H. Res. 965 and H.R. 1689. These are our neighbors, our coworkers, our loved ones. They belong here. Let’s keep them home.