[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 181 (Tuesday, November 7, 2017)]
[House]
[Page H8532]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      EXTEND TEMPORARY PROTECTED STATUS FOR HAITIANS AND HONDURANS

  (Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, the administration has announced that 
it will terminate temporary protected status, or TPS, for Nicaragua 
while extending the immigration protection for Honduras for merely 6 
months. In the coming weeks, an announcement on Haiti's TPS designation 
is expected.
  I am greatly worried about these decisions because over 100,000 
Hondurans and Haitians legally residing in our communities could be 
deported and forced to go back to the instability and chaos in their 
home countries.
  For years, the United States has been providing necessary funding for 
Honduras, which is still struggling with crime and security challenges, 
and for Haiti, which continues to be impacted by devastating natural 
disasters. This is precisely why Congress enacted TPS: so that we can 
provide a safe haven to those who are unable to securely return to 
their home countries.
  Mr. Speaker, the decision to send these individuals back would be a 
setback to our bilateral relations with those nations while tearing 
these families apart.
  I strongly urge the administration to extend TPS for Hondurans and 
Haitians residing in our beautiful country.

                          ____________________