Notice of Intention to Offer Motion to Discharge Committee on Rules From Further Consideration of House Resolution 965

Floor Speech

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Ms. PRESSLEY. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to clause 2(c) of rule XV, I rise to provide notice of my intent to offer a motion to discharge the Committee on Rules from further consideration of House Resolution 965.

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Ms. PRESSLEY. I did, Mr. Speaker.

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Ms. PRESSLEY. I do.

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Ms. PRESSLEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise to make a motion to discharge H.R. 1689 to require the Secretary of Homeland Security to designate Haiti for temporary protected status.

This is a commonsense policy that will save lives and benefit the American public.

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Ms. PRESSLEY. Mr. Speaker, I support this motion, and I urge my colleagues, including the 218 Members from both sides of the aisle who signed this discharge petition, to vote ``yes.''

I yield back the balance of my time.

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Ms. PRESSLEY. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

The yeas and nays were ordered.

During consideration of this resolution, all time yielded is for the purpose of debate only. General Leave
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Ms. PRESSLEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise in unequivocal support of this vote. I am immensely grateful to the Members who supported my discharge petition on both sides of the aisle and the broad, intergenerational and multiracial coalition of justice seekers throughout the country who power this movement, and my indefatigable staff, my A team, who power this work.

I am grateful for labor unions like SEIU, business industry like ABIC, faith leaders like the Conference of Catholic Bishops, civil rights groups like Black Lives Matter Grassroots, IFC, and so many more, who have joined the movement to extend TPS for Haiti.

Now, this issue, Mr. Speaker, is not the most glamorous, and I don't fault anyone at home who perhaps has never heard of this, but for those who know those three letters, TPS, they know it is life-changing.

Temporary protected status is a legal status for 1.3 million immigrants in the United States. The application process is arduous, requiring piles of paperwork, undergoing a background check, spending hundreds of dollars, and coming from one of the few countries on the list, like Haiti or Venezuela.

Technically, the deadline for maintaining Haiti TPS has already passed. That is why this vote is so urgent. That is why I filed the discharge petition, and that is why Democrats, Republicans, and an Independent have come together to take action.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' to extend temporary protected status for Haitians who are living in the United States and building a future that will help all of us.

Haitians like Rebecca in my district, the Massachusetts Seventh, who shared her personal story with me. Rebecca moved to the United States in 2010, not by choice, but out of necessity following the catastrophic earthquake that killed more people than any other earthquake in the history of the Western Hemisphere.

She witnessed the rise in gangs and saw her beautiful country overtaken by political violence and instability. After surviving multiple kidnapping attempts, out of desperation Rebecca made the same decision that any of us would make in her position. She immigrated to the United States. She quickly enrolled in school to learn English. She obtained a job to support herself and her family.

Now, in 2026, thanks to her legal status under TPS, Rebecca is a certified nursing assistant. She told me that she cares for her patients with great joy, pride, and dedication.

Mr. Speaker, let the record reflect that 20 percent of Haitians in the United States, that is one in five, work in healthcare, bridging the critical workforce gaps that define our caregiving crisis.

Rebecca is not our enemy, and she should not have to live with shame nor fear of being deported solely because of where she was born. She told me that she cannot return to Haiti, and she has no other place to go.

Mr. Speaker, Rebecca's letter ended with two words that no person wishes they would ever need to use: Please help.

Today, Congress has the ability to do just that for Rebecca in Massachusetts, for the teacher in Ohio, for the entrepreneur in Florida, and the more than 350,000 Haitian TPS holders whose lives hang in the balance.

Congress can help. Congress can do the right thing. There is nothing stopping us. Congress, right now and right here, can vote to save lives.

Gillen).
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Ms. PRESSLEY. Clarke).

Ms. CLARKE of New York. Mr. Speaker, let me add my voice to that of those who have thanked both Representative Gillen and, of course, Representative Pressley for their leadership and their stewardship in bringing us to this day.

Mr. Speaker, I rise on this day as just one out of many voices proclaiming that we will not stand idly by as 5,400 Haitian TPS holders in New York City and approximately 345,000 others across America who we have come to call our neighbors, friends, and loved ones are forced back to the same gang violence, exploitation, chaos, and instability that they once narrowly escaped with their lives.

As I stand here, I do so in diametric opposition to this administration, which knows full well of our Haitian neighbors' plight yet does not seek to alleviate their pain. Instead, they hope only to become an active participant in it.

That is because in the twisted, dystopian, political sphere that has been created by the Trump administration and its leadership, these are not innocent families and children struggling for freedom and yearning for any semblance of safety, but instead are nothing more than numbers to fuel their ever-cruel, forever-hungry deportation machine.

Since the moment they arrived in America, Haitian TPS holders have dedicated themselves to contributing to this Nation. They have built businesses, built families, and built up their communities. Through their undeniable strength of character and resilient spirit, they have become an inseparable part of our city and country's social fabric. If anyone would like an example of what it truly means to be a good and decent American, let's look towards Haitian Americans and the families up the street.

My colleagues and I have repeatedly urged the administration to extend protections for our most vulnerable neighbors at this most perilous time. Thus far, our call has gone unanswered. If Donald Trump intends to continue this injustice by covering his ears and pretending we are silent, let this bipartisan discharge petition serve as a blaring beacon that even he cannot ignore.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to make the moral decision to pass this necessary humanitarian legislation, protect our Haitian neighbors from certain devastation, and vote ``yes'' on this resolution.

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Ms. PRESSLEY. A vote against this resolution is a vote against our country's best interests, plain and simple, but don't just take my word for it, Mr. Speaker. Republicans in the executive branch agree.

If you go to the State Department's website, you will see the Trump administration has designated Haiti as a ``Level 4: Do not travel (Code Red)'' because of the multilayered humanitarian crises of natural disasters, gang violence, and political instability impacting the island.

That is why TPS is warranted in this moment, and Secretary Rubio knows that. In fact, when he was in the Senate, it was Rubio who authored the very legislation we are voting on today.

It is not just him who agrees. The U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Mike Waltz, has repeatedly discussed the dire conditions of Haiti and its strategic importance to our national security.

Ambassador Waltz, who was recently a Republican in this very body, believes we should be working to stabilize Haiti. He knows that the international effort to restore order in Port-au-Prince would be undermined if we deported hundreds of thousands of Haitians to the island.

This isn't just about foreign policy. Secretary Kennedy of the Department of Health and Human Services said something families across the country already know too well: America is facing a caregiver crisis. If we were to deport Haitians, we would lose even more nurses, aides, and caregivers that we desperately need. Those jobs can't be replaced by AI. The solution is clear.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' to extend TPS because it is the economic thing to do. It is the strategic thing to do. It is the humane thing to do. But most of all, it is the right thing to do.

The previous question is ordered.

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Ms. PRESSLEY. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

The yeas and nays were ordered.

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