The Biden Administration renews TPS for Haitians

The Joe Biden government confirmed this Saturday that it

will re-designate Haiti under the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) program for 18 months,

a measure that is seen as a victory for Democrats and immigration advocacy groups.

"Haiti is experiencing serious security problems, social unrest, an increase in human rights abuses, great poverty and a lack of basic resources, which are exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic," said Alejandro Mayorkas, Secretary of Security Nacional, in a statement.

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This measure will allow Haitians who are in the United States to obtain a work permit and a permit to remain in the country.

"After careful consideration,

we

determine that

we must do everything possible to support Haitian citizens in the United States until conditions in Haiti improve

so that they can return home safely," said Secretary Mayorkas.

Alejandro Mayorkas, Secretary of Homeland Security of the United States.AP / AP

The designation comes as Haiti experiences great political upheaval, human rights abuses and the economic and social impact of the coronavirus.

That country was originally designated for TPS in 2010,

following an earthquake that killed more than 300,000 people in the country.

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The Obama Administration issued frequent renewals until, in 2017, the Trump administration announced that it would end Haiti's TPS in mid-2019. However, court orders prevented that measure from taking effect, leaving Haitian beneficiaries in limbo. .

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Immigration experts say

this decision could benefit more than 100,000 Haitians.

The move has been welcomed by Haitian community leaders, immigration rights activists, and US lawmakers who have written letters, organized rallies, and asked the current government to issue the new designation for the unrest in Haiti. .

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“We applaud Secretary Mayorkas and the Biden administration for fulfilling their commitment to reestablish TPS for Haiti.

This humanitarian step was long overdue and it is the right thing to do.

Providing aid, safety and protection to those in need is central to our nation's values,

”said Wade Henderson, Acting President of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights.

Protesters in favor of extending TPS for Haitian immigrants in the United States (file photo) .REUTERS

Haiti's TPS was in jeopardy from lawsuits filed against the Trump Administration after it attempted to terminate the program, and Haitians lived in fear of being returned to their homeland.

The new measure protects existing beneficiaries of the program, as well as any Haitian national who has arrived in the United States since the last designation in 2017. Anyone from Haiti who attempts to travel to the United States after the announcement will not be eligible for TPS, and could be deported.

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President Biden

has

also

issued a TPS designation for Venezuela, Myanmar, and Syria.

Senator Bob Menendez, D-New Jersey, and chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, said the designation provides "urgently needed protections" for Haitians living in the United States.

"The last thing our country should do is force an entire community to decide between packing up their lives and destroying their families through self-deportation, or

becoming undocumented and forced to be in the shadows of our society,

" added Menéndez.

With information from AP