Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell is leading a coalition of attorneys general calling on Congress to extend Temporary Protected Status for Haitians.
In a letter dated July 22, Campbell and attorneys general from 18 other states and the District of Columbia urged the Senate to approve legislation that would extend Haitian TPS through April 20, 2029. The House has already passed the measure.
The coalition also called for broader legislation allowing courts to review federal decisions ending TPS designations and providing recipients with a path toward permanent legal residency.
The appeal follows the US Supreme Court’s recent decision in Mullin v. Doe, which the attorneys general said eliminated judicial review of most challenges to TPS termination decisions. The ruling has placed the legal status of roughly 350,000 Haitian immigrants who have TPS designation in jeopardy.
“We urge Congress to take immediate action to institute protections for members of this community by extending TPS protections for Haiti,” the attorneys general wrote.
The letter emphasizes the potential impact in Massachusetts, which is home to more than 45,000 Haitian TPS holders—the third-largest population in the country behind Florida and New York. Many work in health care, elder care, transportation, hospitality, and construction.
Thousands of Haitian immigrants work as medical technicians, orderlies, nursing assistants, and caregivers for elderly and disabled residents, the coalition said.
Nationally, Haitian TPS holders contribute an estimated $5.9 billion to the economy each year and pay about $1.6 billion in federal, state, local, and payroll taxes, according to figures cited in Campbell’s letter. Business groups representing nursing homes, restaurants, and hotels have warned that abruptly removing those workers could deepen existing labor shortages.
Conditions in Haiti remain far too dangerous for deportations, the attorneys general claim. Haiti was first designated for TPS following the devastating 2010 earthquake, which killed more than 220,000 people and displaced an estimated 1.5 million. The US State Department maintains its highest-level “Do Not Travel” advisory for Haiti because of crime, kidnapping, terrorism, unrest, and limited health care. Commercial flights remain unavailable to and from Port-au-Prince, the letter said.
Campbell and the other attorneys general said ending TPS would force many Haitians to choose between returning to dangerous conditions or separating from American-born children, spouses, and other relatives.
The House-approved bill that was championed by US Rep. Ayanna Pressley would require the Department of Homeland Security to continue Haiti’s TPS designation until 2029. The coalition urged Senate leaders to take up the measure and said Congress should also restore judicial oversight of future TPS decisions.
“Judicial oversight would provide a needed check on potential abuse of executive branch power,” the attorneys general wrote, “and ensure that lawful residents are not subject to deportations for unlawful reasons.”
