A Democratic-led discharge petition gained enough votes over the weekend to force a House vote on extending temporary deportation protections for Haitian migrants that the Trump administration has tried to end.
Rep. Ayanna Pressley worked to whip support for the bill introduced by Rep. Laura Gillen earlier this year, gaining the support of Republican Reps. Maria Elvira Salazar, Brian Fitzpatrick, Mike Lawler and Don Bacon. Democratic Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez was the petition’s final and 218th signature Friday night.
The successful discharge petition moved the bill out of the Rules Committee and toward a full House vote. If passed, the measure would extend Haiti’s designation under the Temporary Protected Status program for three years.
“Throughout the nation, Haitians are parents, workers, caregivers, faith leaders, business owners, and children who are deeply rooted in our communities, essential to our economy, and are shamefully at risk of being deported to an island grappling with a devastating humanitarian crisis,” Pressley said in a Saturday press release. “Today we are a critical step closer to saving lives and delivering the protections they deserve.”
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President Donald Trump directed the Department of Homeland Security to halt TPS for more than 350,000 Haitian migrants last year, but a federal judge in February blocked the order from taking effect.
“Since taking office, I have fought tirelessly to extend TPS for Haitian recipients after the Administration refused to do so,” Gillen said in a statement. “Bringing this bill to a vote is an important milestone to protect the lives of our Haitian friends and neighbors across the country. TPS has safeguarded law-abiding, hardworking, taxpaying members of our community who came to the U.S. seeking safety.”
The Trump administration appealed to the Supreme Court earlier this month, arguing the conditions on the island no longer constitute the need for protected status. The State Department currently designates the country a “Level 4: Do not travel” risk “due to kidnapping, crime, terrorist activity, civil unrest, and limited health care.”
Since the 2010 earthquake that decimated the small island nation, the United States has offered TPS to the more than 1.6 million people who were displaced by the natural disaster. The island has struggled to recover and more than a decade later struggles with the highest rates of acute food insecurity in the world.
The resolution would direct DHS to extend Haiti’s designation for TPS through Jan. 20, 2029.
“It’s a major win, but it isn’t over,” Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz posted to X.
Once they’ve gained enough votes, discharge petitions must undergo a seven-day waiting period before the measure can be brought to the House floor for a vote. In her release, Pressley said the petition “is set to be voted on within the coming weeks.”
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