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The officials call the Senate to pass a bill extending TPS for Haitians until early 2029.
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu speaks during a July 23 rally at City Hall Plaza to push U.S. Senators to designate Haitians as eligible for TPS. Jessica Rinaldi/The Boston Globe
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu and City Councilor At-Large Ruthzee Louijeune led more than 100 elected officials from across the country in urging Congress to extend Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haitians after the Supreme Court allowed the Trump administration to move forward with ending the program.
In a letter sent to the U.S. Senate on Tuesday, 104 local officials called on the Senate to pass legislation extending TPS for Haiti through early 2029.
The appeal comes weeks after the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that the Trump administration can proceed with terminating TPS for Haitian and Syrian immigrants.
Congress created TPS in 1990 to allow people from countries facing armed conflict, natural disasters, or other extraordinary conditions to temporarily live and work legally in the U.S. Haiti first received the designation following a devastating earthquake there in 2010.
About 45,000 TPS holders live in Massachusetts, the largest share of whom are Haitian.
“Congress has the power to protect our communities and prevent this devastation for our families and economy by extending TPS,” Wu said in a statement. “Thousands of Haitians have lived and worked lawfully in Boston and are part of the fabric of our city. Together with Councilor Ruthzee Louijeune and mayors from across the country, we are calling on Congress to act now.”
Louijeune, the first Haitian American elected to Boston municipal government, said ending TPS would cause families to be separated and harm local economies.
“Local leaders across America know that this unjustified attack on the Haitian community will destabilize our workforce, raise the cost of living, and subject parents and children to the lawless violence of an out-of-control federal government,” Louijeune said in a statement.
The letter notes that conditions in Haiti remain too dangerous for people to safely return, citing the federal government’s own “Level 4: Do Not Travel” advisory, while the Federal Aviation Administration continues to prohibit U.S. airlines from flying into Port-au-Prince due to gang violence and kidnappings.
The officials also argue that allowing TPS to expire would carry significant economic consequences. Haitian TPS holders contribute an estimated $4.4 billion to $5.9 billion annually to the U.S. economy, the letter says, while filling critical roles in health care and other essential industries.
The concerns echo those raised by Massachusetts Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey and Rep. Ayanna Pressley, who released a report in May warning that ending humanitarian protections for Haitians would worsen health care staffing shortages, reduce access to care, and jeopardize patient safety.
Among the Massachusetts officials who signed the letter were the mayors of Beverly, Cambridge, Fitchburg, Gardner, Malden, Lynn, Medford, Melrose, Methuen, Newton, Salem, Somerville, Springfield, West Springfield, and Worcester.
All 13 members of the Boston City Council also signed, along with some councilors and local officials from Cambridge, Lynn, and Brockton.
104 Mayors, Cities, Local Officials Call on U.S. Senate to Pass S. 4814 and Extend Temporary Protected Stat… by samantha.genzer
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