Designation of Haiti for Temporary Protected Status

Floor Speech

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Mr. MEEKS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of Representative Gillen's bill to extend temporary protective status for Haitians until 2029. In fact, to me, it is outrageous that it actually took Representative Pressley's bipartisan discharge petition to force this consequential vote.

It seems to me that the administration and the Speaker should have acted, but they failed to. Today, we have a chance to make this right.

I thank my Republican colleagues who signed the motion to discharge and worked in a bipartisan way to make this happen because the American people recognize that our Haitian neighbors, whether they are from Miami, whether they are from Boston, whether they are in Westchester, New York, or whether they are in Queens, New York, are not strangers, but they are integral parts of our communities, our churches, and our families.

The American people recognize that the conditions in Haiti don't just meet, but they surpass the threshold for TPS. We are talking about one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world, where armed gangs control 90 percent of the capital, a public health system that is nearing collapse, a justice system which is almost nonexistent, and 1.4 million people who are internally displaced by fleeing from violence and hunger.

You don't have to take my word for it. Look at the United States Department of State's own travel advisory issued under this administration. It says plainly to not travel to Haiti due to kidnapping, crime, terrorist activity, civil unrest, and limited healthcare.

We must do everything in our power to prevent further harm during this humanitarian crisis, and we can start today. We can start by passing this bill.

When I think about this country being established, it was people from other parts of the world--in the beginning, especially from Europe--who were trying to find a place to come to in order to get away from dangerous conditions. That is the reason that the words at the base of the Statue of Liberty read: ``Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.''

It is because America is the strongest when we stand for humanity here at home.

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