Haitian nationals who have been protected from deportation from the U.S. for more than seven years since an earthquake struck their homeland won another temporary reprieve Monday: The Department of Homeland Security announced that it will extend the benefit, which expires on July 22, for six more months.
But even though Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly did not terminate the program as one of his top officials had recommended, the 58,706 Haitians enrolled in the Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, program should begin to get their affairs in order for their eventual return to Haiti, officials said Monday.
"This six-month extension should allow Haitian TPS recipients living in the United States time to attain travel documents and make other necessary arrangements for their ultimate departure from the United States, and should also provide the Haitian government with the time it needs to prepare for the future repatriation of all current TPS recipients," Kelly said. "We plan to continue to work closely with the Haitian government, including assisting the government in proactively providing travel documents for its citizens."
Kelly said he decided to offer the extension after careful review of the current conditions in Haiti and conversations with the Haitian government.
"Haiti has made progress across several fronts since the devastating earthquake in 2010," he said. "The Haitian economy continues to recover and grow, and 96 percent of people displaced by the earthquake and living in internally displaced person camps have left those camps. Even more encouraging is that over 98 percent of these camps have closed. Also indicative of Haiti's success in recovering from the earthquake seven years ago is the Haitian government's stated plans to rebuild the Haitian president's residence at the National Palace in Port-au-Prince, and the withdrawal of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti."
Reaction to the news was mixed. While some lawmakers such as Rep. Frederica Wilson, R-Fla., and Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., viewed it as an opportunity to keep fighting, Democratic Florida state Sen. Daphne Campbell and activist Marleine Bastien said they were disappointed.
"I'm very, very disappointed. This is a slap in our face," Campbell said. "What is six months? As soon as you put your head down to sleep, it's six months. After six months, what is next? The TPS people are invested in this country; they have businesses, they have homes here. Immigrants built America."
Bastien said she expects thousands of Haitians to lose their jobs in the coming weeks even as the government says they should begin reapplying for work authorizations up until July 23.
"And then what? This is not a win for us," Bastien said. This is gravely disappointing. We are urging everyone to call our lawmakers, (Sens.) Marco Rubio and Bill Nelson and others in the Trump administration. We are leaving people hanging. It's cruel and inhumane. The conditions in Haiti are horrible enough for them to renew TPS for 18 months to 24 months."
With other Democratic and Republican lawmakers, plus Haitian and immigration advocates, Wilson had been fighting for an 18-month extension. The acting director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services recommended the six-month extension, with termination of the program in January.
"You have to take everything you get and you have to maximize what you get. Within that six months, you have to work your magic," Wilson said.
Wilson said she is inviting Kelly to travel with her to Haiti in the coming months so that he can see in person why sending 58,000 Haitians back is "unconscionable."
"We just can't deport people back to those conditions. Tent cities still remain from the earthquake," she said. "I want them to go with me because ... They will take you and you will never see the tent cities. I want someone to go with me. I will be sure to take them to the places to see, so that they will be more inclined to extend it even further."
Rubio, who has been lobbying on behalf of the Haitian community, said he'll continue to work with the Trump administration. "Last week, I asked the White House to extend the TPS deadline for Haitians until at least Jan. 18, and I'm glad to see that the administration agreed."
Activists have argued that Haiti's recovery from the earthquake was set back by Hurricane Matthew in October. The country was already struggling with a food crisis prompted by a three-year drought, and recent rains have caused flooding, making an already desperate situation worse.
Campbell said the fight has only just started. She has called on all Haitian-American elected officials across the U.S to form a coalition to head to Washington to push for an extension beyond six months.
Haitians aren't the only group granted TPS. More than 200,000 Hondurans, El Salvadorans and Nicaraguans have been allowed to live and work freely in the United States since Hurricane Mitch struck Central America in 1995. While the protection had been set to expire July 22 for Haitians, it expires in January 2018 for Hondurans and Nicaraguans and in March 2018 for Salvadorans.
Jimmy Parfait, a North Miami Beach resident, who is enrolled in the TPS program with his mother, Marie, said six months is better than outright termination.
"You never know. They will probably extend it for another six months," he said. "Hopefully something good comes out of it."
Before Monday's announcement, activists had criticized reports that Homeland Security has been investigating to determine if Haitian TPS holders had criminal histories, and whether they were obtaining public benefits, which they are not eligible to receive.
The Associated Press published portions of leaked internal emails from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services policy chief Kathy Nuebel Kovarik telling staff members to look for stories about rebuilding in Haiti and reports of criminal activity by those with covered by the TPS program.
"Even though it's only a snapshot and not representative of the entire situation, we need more than 'Haiti is really poor' stories," Kovarik wrote on April 28, the AP reported.
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(Miami Herald reporter Martin Vassolo contributed to this report.)
