Church World Service Commends Biden Administration for Honoring Promise to Strengthen Protections for Haitian Community in the United States


May 24, 2021

Washington D.C. – Church World Service commends the Biden administration for its decision on Saturday to redesignate Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for nationals of Haiti for 18 months, as promised on the campaign trail. More than 100,000 Haitians who were in the United States as of May 21st will now be protected from deportation and eligible to work in the United States. 

In response to the decision, Meredith Owen, Director of Policy and Advocacy for Church World Service, issues the following statement:

Though long overdue, this is a welcome decision by the Biden administration. Redesignation of TPS for Haitian community members in the United States means families, including hundreds of children, can breathe a little more easily knowing they will not be forcibly returned to a country that cannot safely receive them and where they are likely to experience harm. TPS for Haitians is critical to keeping families together and safe.

We are honored to celebrate this decision with the many Black immigrant groups who led this fight and work everyday. We know this is one step in the right direction and that we must continue to fight for all of our immigrant neighbors and work toward a humane, just immigration system. Since January, over 300,000 immigrants, including as many as 2,000 Haitians, have been deported and expelled. We urge the Biden administration to provide TPS for Cameroon, Mauritania, Somalia, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Sudan, Nepal, and Guatemala – and end anti-asylum policies, like Title 42, that drive expulsions. We further call on Congress to take immediate action to provide a meaningful and permanent pathway to citizenship for TPS holders and dreamers, such as the House-passed American Dream and Promise Act and the Senate-introduced SECURE Act.

Church World Service previously joined over 100 organizations urging the Biden administration to redesignate TPS for Haiti, and urged the administration and Congress to protect Black immigrants and asylum seekers from deportation, expulsion, and family separation. 

For more information or to speak with Meredith Owen, contact media@cwsglobal.org