Rare rebuke of Trump’s mass deportation agenda, enabled by small group of Republican defectors, to last three years
The US House of Representatives on Thursday approved legislation to shield 350,000 Haitians from deportations for three years, a rare bipartisan rebuke of Donald Trump’s mass deportation agenda enabled by a small group of Republican defectors.
The 224-204 vote saw 11 members of the House Republican conference join with all Democrats to pass the New York Democrat Lauren Gillen’s bill to continue temporary protected status (TPS) for Haitians, a designation that allows them to live and work in the United States without fear of deportation.
Barack Obama’s administration allowed Haitians to become eligible for TPS in the wake of a 2010 earthquake that devastated the capital, Port-au-Prince, and the program was extended by subsequent presidents as the security situation in the country deteriorated.
Trump cancelled the TPS protections for Haitians last year as well as for Syrians, but the terminations have been blocked by a federal judge, and the issue is expected to be decided by the supreme court, which has scheduled arguments for later this month.
