[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 120 (Wednesday, July 22, 2026)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4213-S4217]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                  Unanimous Consent Request--H.R. 1689

  Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I am beginning a series of Senators who 
are speaking about Haiti and TPS.
  The Haitian community is woven into the fabric of our great American 
family, but Donald Trump is trying to tear it apart by terminating 
Haiti's temporary protected status.
  As someone who takes great pride in representing the State that is 
home to the largest Haitian population in the country, I know just how 
important the Haitian community is to the American economy, to culture, 
to society.
  But, unfortunately, Donald Trump clearly doesn't. Trump has vilified 
Haitians with his bigoted attacks and stereotypes, over and over again. 
Now, Trump is trying to force Haitians who are here legally to return 
to the dangerous conditions they fled in Haiti.
  Let's be clear: Revoking Haitians' temporary protected status will 
not only hurt them; it hurts our entire country.
  In New York, you can't go into a hospital, a nursing home, or a 
clinic without seeing scores of dedicated healthcare professionals who 
are fiercely proud of their Haitian heritage. That is true in cities 
and towns throughout the country.
  We have heard warnings that if Trump expels our Haitian TPS holders, 
it will strain our health system and create a gap in our caregiving 
workforce that will be difficult to fill.
  These people are our friends. They are our neighbors. They take care 
of the elderly and people with disabilities. They are entrepreneurs and 
small businessowners. They work hard and pay taxes.
  Let's not forget Haitian TPS holders add nearly $6 billion to the 
U.S. economy each year.
  Ending TPS doesn't fix our broken system; it only makes things worse. 
It is cruel. It is counterproductive. Sending 300,000 people to Haiti 
with little or no support will further destabilize an already severe 
humanitarian and security crisis on our country's doorstep.
  I urge all of my colleagues to support our legislation and preserve 
Haitians' TPS status. I will keep fighting for Haitian Americans in New 
York and beyond--any time, any place.
  I yield the floor.
  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I rise in support of H.R. 1689, a bill to 
designate Haiti for Temporary Protected Status through March 20, 2029.
  I thank my colleagues Senator Markey and Senator Blunt Rochester for 
their leadership on this important humanitarian issue.
  This bill passed the House on a strong bipartisan vote, and the 
Senate should pass it as well. Supporting this legislation is the right 
thing to do; nationals of Haiti cannot safely return to their home 
country.
  The Department of State has issued a level 4 travel advisory, telling 
Americans that it is unsafe to travel to Haiti due to the risk of 
crime, kidnapping, terrorism, civil unrest, and limited healthcare.
  The Federal Aviation Administration prohibits U.S. carriers from 
flying to Haiti because of the danger to planes of being shot at by the 
gangs.
  But this bill is not just a humanitarian action. Haitian TPS holders 
have become integral parts of their communities.
  In fact, our former Senate colleague Mike Dewine--now the Republican 
Governor of Ohio--called the Trump administration's decision to 
terminate Haiti's TPS ``a mistake'' and a ``job killer'' that is ``not 
in the best interest of the United States nor Ohio.''

[[Page S4214]]

  He noted that Haitian TPS holders are opening small businesses, 
working, and raising families in Ohio communities.
  Illinois is no different; hundreds of Haitian families in Illinois 
will be impacted by the terminations of TPS.
  In fact, there are 350,000 Haitian TPS holders nationwide, with 
50,000 U.S. citizen children who will be harmed by the administration's 
decision to terminate Haiti's TPS.
  They work in critical industries, providing essential care to our 
elderly and harvesting the food that we rely on each day.
  Business organizations and labor unions have warned that the decision 
to end work authorization for many TPS holders could have sweeping 
consequences for both workers and the U.S. economy.
  DHS Secretary Mullin has tried to deflect, saying, ``Either try to 
fill out the paperwork and be here underneath a permanent status, or 
we'll help you get back to your country.''
  But he leaves out the important part: The Trump-Mullin Department of 
Homeland Security has indefinitely banned processing for any 
immigration application from a Haitian national. So there is no way for 
Haitians TPS holders to apply for permanent status.
  The administration's goal is clear: to force Haitian TPS holders to 
go back to a country where they are at risk of violence, kidnapping, or 
death.
  That should tell you everything you need to know. But the President 
showed his hand long ago; I was at the meeting in 2018 where he used 
the term ``s-hole'' nations to describe Haiti and African countries.
  I will never forget it--it was an embarrassment to the White House, 
to the Oval Office, and to the Presidency.
  At the time, President Trump denied making this statement, but now, 
he proudly proclaims his bigotry toward the Haitian people.
  I happen to disagree with the President. Haitian TPS holders make our 
country better every day. I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting 
this live unanimous consent request to extend TPS for Haiti.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Massachusetts.
  Mr. MARKEY. Mr. President, I rise today to underscore the critical 
importance of maintaining temporary protected status, or TPS, for 
Haiti.
  TPS allows nationals from designated countries facing ongoing armed 
conflict, environmental disasters, or extraordinary conditions to live 
and to work legally in the United States until it is safe to return to 
their homeland.
  First of all, I would like to thank my colleague Lisa Blunt Rochester 
from Delaware for leading this effort in the U.S. Senate. Thank you.
  I want to thank the Senator from New York, Mr. Schumer, for his 
statement today, which is basically reflecting the views of millions of 
Americans who are outraged at what is transpiring and affecting 
dramatically the Haitian community in the United States.
  I would really like to thank Massachusetts Congresswoman Ayanna 
Pressley for leading the successful effort in the House of 
Representatives to extend Haiti's TPS designation. I am also thankful 
to Congresswoman Pressley for her partnership, not only today but in 
her yearslong fight to advocate for our Haitian-American communities.
  In January of this year, we cohosted a field hearing in Massachusetts 
to hear from Haitian TPS holders, business and union leaders, and 
advocates about the importance of Haiti TPS.
  And in April, alongside Senator Van Hollen and Congresswoman 
Wassermann Schultz, we led an amicus brief in the Supreme Court on 
behalf of 180 Members of Congress in support of Haiti and Syria TPS.
  But last month, the Supreme Court delivered a devastating ruling in 
the case. The far-right Justices green-lit the Trump administration's 
unlawful, racist termination of TPS for Haiti and for Syria. The Court 
failed a test of morality. It slammed the doors of justice in the face 
of more than a million TPS holders, including 45,000 Haitian TPS 
holders in Massachusetts. It is an outrage; it is a travesty.
  For years, Donald Trump has demonized and attacked Haitian TPS 
holders. Trump has spewed racist, cruel lies about Haitians.
  We know that Trump does not want to make America great again. Trump 
wants to make America hate again. That is what these policies 
represent--to make America White again.
  And to do so, he is terminating the critical TPS protections that 
nearly hundreds of thousands of Haitians rely on. The Trump 
administration plans to force Haitian TPS holders to return to 
dangerous and life-threatening conditions.
  But Haiti continues to confront overlapping crisis, political 
instability, widespread violence, and a humanitarian emergency that has 
strained every single facet of daily life.
  In the wake of Hurricane Matthew, in September of 2016, I traveled to 
Haiti to deliver relief goods and meet with aid providers, even amidst 
devastation. The resilience of the Haitian people was palpable.
  At the time, the country was still battling the cholera epidemic 
caused by the U.N. peacekeepers after the devastating 2010 earthquake 
that killed thousands and thousands and thousands of Haitians. Haiti 
faced this crisis without sufficient international support.
  And, ultimately, I led the effort to get the United Nations to 
apologize to Haiti for what the U.N. had done to that country. And, 
finally, the United Nations did that.
  I came away from that trip knowing that Haiti would continue to hurt 
and that the United States should do everything in its power to help 
the Haitian people.
  Sadly, Haiti is still hurting. Haiti's security crisis is eroding the 
promise and future of an entire nation. Armed groups now exert control 
over much of Port-au-Prince. Kidnappings, targeted violence, and 
blockades have made it difficult for people to reach hospitals, attend 
school, and access basic services.
  At the same time, natural disasters, including earthquakes, 
hurricanes, and recurrent flooding have further damaged infrastructure 
that was already stretched to its limits.
  Together, these forces have left millions without certainty or 
without security. It is clear that Haitian TPS holders cannot return 
home safely.
  And yet--and yet--the State Department currently advises American 
citizens against traveling to Haiti because of the dangers and 
instability. That is utter hypocrisy. You can't tell Americans it is 
too dangerous to go to Haiti and then say that you are going to tell 
350,000 Haitians that they have got to go back to a place that is too 
dangerous for any American to go and visit.
  It is protected status. It is protecting them against that which is 
too dangerous.
  Instead of meeting this undeniable humanitarian catastrophe with 
compassion, the Trump administration has chosen to compound the trauma. 
And this brings us to the dangerous and politically cruel reality that 
Haitian TPS holders face today in our country.
  For families with children born here--American children--it may mean 
a choice no parent should ever be forced to make: tearing their family 
apart or taking a child who has never stepped foot outside of the 
United States into danger in a country that child has never lived in 
and that the State Department is telling every American is too 
dangerous to go to. But parents may have to take children into that 
situation.
  Imagine a mother or a father sitting at their kitchen table tonight, 
looking across at their child and trying to decide if that child has a 
better chance of survival returning to Haiti, a country consumed by 
violence, or staying in the United States, separated from the loving 
care of their parents.
  If we do not act, this is the brutal reality of family separation 
that will play out in thousands of homes across this country. Families 
are being forced to endure agonizing and impossible calculations. We 
cannot stand by while hundreds and thousands of Haitians who have lived 
and worked and built lives in the United States are suddenly staring 
into an abyss of uncertainty.
  What of the daily life for those who will remain? The moment these 
protections lapse, TPS holders--who have been here legally for years 
working, paying taxes, and raising families--will stare down the 
looming threat of detention and deportation.

[[Page S4215]]

  That is what the Trump administration wants: to give ICE agents more 
work to do on our streets, to give his private army the authority to 
arrest a million more people to meet racist, cruel quotas. And no one 
should have to live through that constant fear of a sudden knock on the 
door or the panic of a random traffic stop.
  To strip Haitians of their status of protection, which we have given 
them because of the catastrophic conditions that still exist in Haiti, 
is to strip them of their agency, of their safety, of their peace of 
mind.
  Haitian TPS holders are Massachusetts. They are the United States. 
They are hard working. They are kind. They are resilient. They are 
strong in the face adversity and deeply committed to the communities in 
which they live, whether it is Mattpan or Brockton or Malden. And the 
same thing is true for all across our country.
  A Haitian TPS holder is a friend and home-health aide who has taken 
care of grandma or grandpa for years. A Haitian TPS holder is a 
coworker and a construction worker that has helped build homes in our 
neighborhoods.
  A Haitian TPS holder is a neighbor and a small business owner on Blue 
Hill Avenue who helps support the livelihoods of others.
  Haitian TPS holders are essential workers. They are nurses. They are 
home health aides, educators, grocery store workers. They keep us safe. 
They keep us fed. They keep us healthy. They have followed the rules. 
They have committed no crimes at all, and yet they are now being told 
they are going to be sent home.
  And these are the same people who have made our seniors smile, that 
have been in homes all across our country, in homes taking care of our 
loved ones, in hospitals taking care of our loved ones. That is who 
they are. They have protected our babies. They soothe our sick. They 
are us. We have a moral duty to protect TPS holders and provide them 
with protections and a permanent pathway to citizenship. Let's help 
them make America home.
  For generations, Massachusetts has been shaped by our immigrant 
communities. It was one of our own, Congressman Joe Moakley, who served 
as one of the architects of the TPS statute and who understood both the 
moral clarity and the practical necessity of providing refuge in times 
of crisis.
  In defending his provision for TPS protection on the House of 
Representatives floor in 1990, Congressman Moakley emphasized our 
``deep moral obligation'' to protect innocent victims fleeing violence 
abroad. His words remain as urgent and relevant today as they were when 
he spoke them.
  Protecting the vulnerable is not a political choice; it is a moral 
duty. Congresswoman Pressley's success in passing the Haiti TPS bill in 
the House of Representatives is an inspiration. And now the Senate must 
pass the bill, which I introduced alongside Senator Blunt Rochester, to 
designate Haiti for TPS until after the next Presidential election.
  I have called on every recent administration to designate, extend, 
and redesignate TPS for Haiti. I have also supported legislation to 
provide a legal pathway to residency for TPS holders. I will keep 
supporting this community.
  The narrative of TPS holders in the United States is a story of 
resilience, of hope, and of an enduring spirit. Despite facing 
adversity, TPS holders have continued to contribute to build lives and 
set down roots.
  Haitian TPS holders deserve our full protection. We cannot turn our 
backs on them now. That is the choice which we have to confront right 
now.
  And, again, I thank Senator Blunt Rochester for her leadership on 
this issue as well. And if you would like to be recognized now, or I 
will make the motion right now and then we will continue the debate.
  So as if in legislative session and notwithstanding rule XXII, I ask 
unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate 
consideration of Calendar No. 374, H.R. 1689; further, I ask that the 
bill be considered read a third time and passed, and the motion to 
reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  The Senator from Missouri.
  Mr. SCHMITT. Mr. President, reserving the right to object.
  I object to this legislation, which would once again extend Haitian 
temporary protected status. Washington has invented a new definition of 
temporary--it means permanent.
  Haitian TPS was supposed to be just 18 months when it began in 2010. 
Sixteen years later, 350,000 Haitians are still here. Today, after the 
Supreme Court cleared the way for President Trump to end TPS and send 
them home, Democrats are trying to change the law to keep the 350,000 
Haitians here permanently. Not on my watch.
  I rise today to block the bill, and also do something else, to make 
clear that those supporting this bill have a message for the American 
people: Your vote doesn't matter. Your community doesn't matter. Your 
livelihood doesn't matter.
  They are trying to use Washington's oldest immigration trick: Call it 
temporary, extend it forever, and cash in on a new voter base.
  The American people voted to end this scam. Washington Democrats are 
voting to keep it alive and remind you who they think is really in 
charge.
  Here is the truth Democrats won't say out loud: They never, ever plan 
to end any of these programs. They call them temporary to get them 
started, then they manufacture an excuse for every extension--another 
year, another election, another deadline ignored.
  By the time the public notices, temporary status has become permanent 
residency in everything but name.
  Democrats can use this scam to build a new political constituency, a 
new voter base. Haiti was first designated for temporary protected 
status following the 2010 earthquake. The designation was supposed to 
last for 18 months; it has now lasted 16 years. Yet, we are still being 
told that this is a temporary program. In Washington, temporary, 
apparently, means forever.
  A child born when Haitian TPS began is nearly old enough to vote or 
sponsor their family for green cards now. That is how long Washington 
has been calling this program temporary for the Haitians who are here. 
TPS was created for emergencies. Democrats turned it into a one-way 
racket towards permanent mass migration.
  Here is how the racket works: An emergency creates temporary status. 
Then the emergency passes, but the status stays. The deadline arrives, 
but Washington extends it. The voters demand enforcement; the Democrats 
refuse.
  Every click moves towards permanence; none moves back toward the law. 
That is the TPS racket. Democrats have decided that mass migration must 
continue and that no President chosen by the American people, who ran 
on this issue, by the way, will ever be permitted to end it. That is 
the real purpose of the bill. Its supporters will wrap this bill in 
language of compassion, but they never seem to have any compassion for 
the American worker, competing against an ever-expanding cheap labor 
supply.
  They have no compassion for families priced out of housing, workers 
whose wages are undercut, schools punished and pushed beyond capacity, 
or communities forced to absorb decisions Washington made for them that 
they voted against. Their compassion always flows outward, but the bill 
always arrives on your doorstep.
  America is not a global refugee camp. America is not a get-rich 
scheme for the Third World. America is our home. And when houseguests 
become squatters, you don't delay enforcement; you call the sheriff and 
you send them home. That is exactly what we must do here today.
  If Democrats want 350,000 Haitians to stay permanently, they should 
say it plainly. Introduce a bill. Put your name on it. Vote for the 
permanent status. Then explain that vote to the American people. Quit 
with the games. But stop calling permanent immigration temporary. The 
voters are not stupid, and they already made their choice. The voters 
demanded enforcement. President Trump is delivering on that, but 
Democrats are fighting to keep the same old scam alive.

  I have the power to stop this nonsense bill, and I am going to use 
it. That is why I am here today. So I object to the bill, which would 
keep 350,000 Haitians here permanently. I object to changing temporary 
to permanent. I object to flooding American communities with cheap 
foreign labor.

[[Page S4216]]

I object to treating foreigners as the priority and Americans as the 
afterthought. I object to mass migration.
  Temporary must mean temporary; and elections have consequences, 
therefore, I object.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The objection is heard.
  The Senator from Massachusetts.
  Mr. MARKEY. Mr. President, the objection we just heard is exactly why 
this law to protect Haiti TPS is necessary, and I am incredibly 
disappointed in my Republican colleagues for turning their backs on the 
Haitian TPS community in this dire time.
  TPS represents America's longstanding commitment to serve as a beacon 
of hope and refuge for the vulnerable. To honor and to protect Haitian 
TPS holders is a moral duty. It is also an acknowledgment of the 
immense contributions TPS holders make to our families, to our 
neighborhoods.
  And for years, TPS holders have reliably, patiently, and emphatically 
offered stability and dignity and security to so many.
  The Senator from Missouri said the keyword is ``temporary''; no, the 
keyword is ``protection.''
  The duration of how long it should be extended to give people 
protection is what we are debating here today. If the State Department 
says it is too dangerous for Americans to go to Haiti, then Haitians 
who are given TPS protections are also living with a danger that is too 
great for them and their families to be returned to a State Department-
designated country too dangerous to visit.
  They only ask for something that is just so clear, so decent, so 
obvious--just the stability of preserving their status, the dignity to 
live without fear, the security of not being returned to danger. It is 
the least we owe to them. But this fight to protect Haiti and its TPS 
protections is not over.
  To the families lying awake tonight afraid of what comes next: We 
will continue to fight for you. To the children asking if their parents 
will be here in the morning: We will continue to fight for you. To 
every person who did everything right, who followed the rules, who 
believed in the promise of America: We will continue to fight for you.
  We are not done. This administration and Senate Republicans cannot 
take away your humanity, your dignity, your future. We are going to 
continue to fight, and it is my honor to be able to partner with the 
great Senator from Delaware, my partner in this effort, the great 
Senator Lisa Blunt Rochester.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Delaware.
  Ms. BLUNT ROCHESTER. Mr. President, let me begin by thanking Senator 
Ed Markey for your leadership, for your compassion, for your brilliance 
on this issue, as well as the great Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley, who 
we are proud to have in the room today.
  You know, the State of Massachusetts is such a powerful State for 
freedom, justice, and liberty. You embody the ideals that we were sent 
here to fight for.
  And so I too am disappointed in our colleague's objection. I think 
what we proposed here that Congresswoman Pressley was able to pass in 
the House on a bipartisan--she got it done. She was doing what we need 
to get done here in the Senate.
  And what we wanted to do was clear and simple. We wanted a bill that 
would extend temporary protected status for Haitian immigrants.
  Why is that so important?
  TPS is a designation the Department of Homeland Security can give to 
a foreign country to indicate that it is unsafe for its citizens to 
return home. Home. They weren't fleeing here because they don't want to 
be home; it was unsafe.
  And there are many reasons that a country could receive this 
designation: Ongoing conflicts like a civil war or gang violence, a 
natural disaster like a hurricane or an earthquake, or temporary 
conditions like civil unrest.
  Unfortunately, at this time, Haiti meets all three requirements. Yet, 
the Trump administration, with the help of a Supreme Court decision, as 
well as colleagues here, has decided to terminate TPS status for Haiti.
  This policy decision is driven by cruelty and xenophobia, and it has 
real consequences. The decision to uproot your entire life and start 
again in a different country isn't something someone takes lightly. The 
reality for many Haitians is this: decades of corrupt governance was 
ended by a political assassination 5 years ago. The country has been in 
political turmoil ever since. Daily life is characterized by civil 
unrest, violence, and kidnappings by armed gangs.
  On top of that, hurricanes and earthquakes have left the country with 
limited access to healthcare, food, and public services.
  There are real, tangible reasons that 350,000 Haitians have fled to 
the United States for pursuit of a better life: real reasons, reasons 
that your own families could not withstand.
  In my home State of Delaware, this is deeply personal. Delaware is 
called the ``State of Neighbors,'' and over 5,000 of those neighbors 
are Haitian immigrants with TPS status. And at this moment, they are 
scared. They are terrified that they will lose their status and be 
unable to work and, ultimately, deported back to Haiti. Families are 
worried that they won't be able to make ends meet or, worse, be 
forcibly deported from a country they have grown to call home.
  These are real people with a real stake in the decisions that we make 
here in this body, people like Marie, who came to Delaware with her 
family when she was 12. Her memories of growing up are full of Sundays 
spent at church, going to mass in the morning, spending the day with 
her family at the pastor's house, and then going back to afternoon 
service.
  Now an adult, Marie became one of the very first Haitian Realtors in 
our State, where she helps families buy their first homes, establish 
roots, and get one step closer to the American dream.
  Or people like Anne--she received a deportation letter last April. 
Everyone in her family received the letter, including her 1-year-old 
niece--her 1-year-old niece.
  Anne and her family fled to Delaware after a gang war broke out in 
Haiti following the assassination of the President in 2021. Receiving 
deportation letters left them depressed and scared. They were sent into 
a tailspin and faced a devastating choice: Do you stay here illegally? 
They don't want to do that. Do you stay here illegally? Do you try to 
figure it out and go back to a country with danger and chaos with a 
small child or do you flee?
  As I said before, Delaware is a State of neighbors, and we are losing 
neighbors. Anne and her entire family have fled.
  Now, if the moral imperative doesn't convince you, I will try the 
economic. Hundreds of thousands of Haitian TPS recipients are in our 
workforce. These are good, hard-working people. They work in 
healthcare, in agriculture. They are small business owners, Realtors, 
pastors, and more.
  They are necessary contributors to our economy. They provide over 
$800 million in taxes every year and generate over $5.9 billion for our 
economy.
  The loss of the Haitian TPS workforce would impact and cause harm to 
multiple industries, from the ag sector to education, to healthcare, 
including nursing homes, hospitals, and senior centers. My office has 
already heard reports from private employers who are being forced to 
let these employees go, whose authorizations are tied to TPS.
  Today, we had a chance to set things right. We had a chance to extend 
these protections to our Haitian neighbors. We had a chance to do the 
right thing. But I am here to tell you, yes, elections have 
consequences, and people are watching. And we are not giving up.
  Thank you to all of the individuals who are supporting these 
families. Thank you to our staffs who are receiving the phone calls. 
Thank you to the pastors who are praying. Thank you to all who are 
fighting for our neighbors. As I said, we won't give up.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Maryland.
  Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Mr. President, I want to thank my colleagues Senator 
Markey and Senator Blunt Rochester for bringing this motion to the 
floor.
  I do want to thank Congresswoman Pressley--who I know had to leave 
the floor--for her leadership in the House.
  And like my colleagues, I am extremely disappointed that Republican 
Senators today blocked our ability to move forward and have a vote on 
this

[[Page S4217]]

matter and pass this very important matter, which is to extend 
temporary protected status for Haiti.
  As my colleagues have said, temporary protected status--TPS--was 
established decades ago with bipartisan support because Congress 
understood then a very basic truth: When people cannot safely return to 
their countries of origin, we do not put their lives at risk by forcing 
them to go back. That is the essence of the protection in TPS, and that 
principle is worth defending today.
  For years, hundreds of thousands of Haitians have lived and worked 
legally in the United States of America under TPS. They built their 
lives here. They have paid taxes here, including Social Security taxes. 
They started small businesses here. They are our neighbors, our 
friends, our colleagues. They are our community members.
  They are deeply rooted in communities all over the country, including 
in my State of Maryland. Some have lived here for decades--again, 
legally--with this status. To rip all of that away, while the danger in 
Haiti persists, is wrong and it is cruel. And it does not align with 
the values that the United States claims to stand for, and yet that is 
exactly what the Trump administration is doing. And, sadly, it is what 
our Republican Senate colleagues just did in their motion.
  And I do want to underscore what Senator Blunt Rochester and Senator 
Markey have said. They may be able to block it today in the U.S. 
Senate, but we will keep working on this matter because it is a matter 
of important American principles.
  You know, last year, the administration moved to terminate Haiti's 
TPS designation, and that action was challenged in court. And the 
Federal courts temporarily blocked that termination.
  Then it went to the Supreme Court, and on a devastating 6-to-3 
decision, the Supreme Court reversed the lower courts and sided with 
the Trump administration. It was another--in my view--very bad decision 
from this Supreme Court that will have very harmful consequences for 
the Haitian community but, really, for all of our communities because 
now TPS holders face imminent loss of their legal status and of their 
work authorizations, the latter of which is slated to happen as soon as 
the end of this week.
  So let's be clear about what that means. Let's just be clear about 
the harm that we are forcing these individuals to face. It means 
hundreds of thousands of our community members who followed the rules, 
worked legally, paid taxes, and built lives in this country will lose 
their ability to work legally and be forced to return to a country 
where it is not safe to return.
  That is the reality right now. Anyone following the situation in 
Haiti knows it remains very dangerous. Indeed, as my colleagues have 
said, the State Department continues to warn Americans not to travel to 
Haiti because of crime, kidnapping, terrorism, unrest, and other 
factors.
  The country remains under a state of emergency, and the U.S. 
Government has extremely limited ability to provide any emergency 
assistance, even to our own citizens who are there now.
  And the humanitarian situation there continues to deteriorate. When 
you are evaluating whether it is safe to force anybody back to their 
country of origin, we are supposed to look at whether the situation is 
getting better or worse. It is getting worse over a long period of time 
in Haiti. While there are some small signs of hope right now, the 
reality is, it is a very, very dangerous place
  In fact, 1.5 million people have been displaced from their homes. 
More than half the population needs humanitarian assistance. More than 
5.8 million people are expected to face hunger this year. Meanwhile, 
armed gangs continue to control large parts of Port-au-Prince and other 
parts of the country.
  A lot of these gangs are responsible for killings, kidnappings, 
sexual violence, and forced displacements of entire communities. And 
yet, by the decision the Republican Senator took to the floor, blocking 
this action, they are forcing people who have been members of our 
community for a long time--again, working here legally--forcing them 
back into imminent danger and harm.
  You know, we shouldn't be doing this, colleagues. We should not be 
forcing anybody back into a situation of imminent harm, especially 
people who have been here and working legally and playing by all of the 
rules. And now we are changing the rules on them midstream because what 
had been a bipartisan law of the temporary protected status program is 
now having the ``protected status'' part of it ripped out by our 
colleagues. So this is really part of the Trump administration's mass 
deportation strategy.
  You know, the President told Americans that they were going to go 
after the ``worst of the worst.'' You know, we had a vote on this floor 
weeks back. I think it was a unanimous vote that, you know, folks who 
have committed crimes--people who are dangerous to our communities--
yes, the worst of the worst should be essentially held accountable and 
deported.
  But folks under TPS? These are people who are working legally in our 
country. These are people paying taxes. These are not the worst of the 
worst. In fact, they have to check in every single year and make sure 
that they continue to meet the requirements of the law. And yet these 
are the people--these are the people--that the President and now our 
Republican colleagues seek to uproot and send into certain danger.
  Sadly, the Supreme Court--the Trump-stacked Supreme Court--went along 
with these decisions, but we have a chance in this body to fix that. 
And that was what we tried to do today with Senator Markey's motion.
  Again, it was blocked by our Republican colleagues, but this will not 
be the end of this debate. It will not be the end of this discussion 
because the essence of TPS was, at least at one time in our country, a 
bipartisan effort. On a bipartisan basis, we agreed that it was wrong 
to send people back to their home country if they faced certain danger. 
And that is why we allowed these individuals to stay here. And many of 
them have made really successful lives here in our communities, 
working--again legally--paying taxes.
  And so it is a very sad day when what once was a bipartisan consensus 
to stand by important principles that had made this country stronger 
are shredded by this White House and where we now have a rubberstamped 
Congress to go along with the Trump administration's mass deportation 
agenda.
  So I regret the action that was taken today. I, again, thank my 
colleague Senator Markey for his efforts, and we will keep at it 
together.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Armstrong). The Senator from Iowa.