Earlier this month, the Supreme Court sided with President Trump in a dispute about the Temporary Protected Status of Haitian immigrants, leaving about 350,000 Haitians living in the U.S. without temporary legal status, according to NPR.
On Aug. 31, Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke, representing District 9 in Central Brooklyn and Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, issued a joint statement condemning deportation and dehumanization of Haitian Nationals.
“Today, thousands of Haitians are in chains because Donald Trump decided their lives are a crime. They broke no laws, yet that did not stop the Trump administration from forcing them into the groups of Haiti’s violent gangs and instability,” they said.
According to the representatives, thousands of Haitians have been detained by the Trump administration. According to the Department of State, Haiti is listed as Level 4 — the highest level of risk for travel due to reasons such as risk of crime, kidnapping and terrorism.
“The Trump administration has declared Haiti unsafe to travel to, and in recent days alone, gang massacres have left dozens dead, more have been kidnapped and some of the Haitians this administration deported have already been killed,” said Clarke and Pressley in the joint statement.
Clarke, co-founder and co-chair of the House Haiti Caucus and a member of the Caribbean Caucus, has been vocal about her support for Haitian Nationals since TPS was revoked earlier this year.
New York City has the second largest Haitian immigration population, according to CBS. Since last year, many Haitians living in the city reported living in fear after Trump first announced an end to TPS. Since 2010, Clarke has worked on and introduced legislation in support of Haitian immigrant families and business owners.
“We call upon the Senate to immediately take the long overdue step of passing our legislation to restore TPS for Haiti,” Clarke and Pressley said. “The lives of Haitians and Americans alike are at stake.”
