By Nelson A. King
The Trump administration
has extended Temporary Protected
Status (TPS) for over
500,000 undocumented Haitians
living in the US.
The Department of Homeland
Security (DHS) announced
a Federal Register notice on
Nov. 1 extending the validity
of TPS-related documentation
for beneficiaries under the TPS
designations not only to Haiti
but also to El Salvador, Honduras,
Nepal, Nicaragua and
Sudan through Jan. 4, 2021.
The TPS designation to
Haiti, El Salvador and Nicaragua
was expected to expire on
Jan. 4, 2020.
The designation to Honduras
was expected to expire
on Jan. 5, 2020 and Nepal on
March 24, 2020.
DHS said the notice “automatically
extends the validity
of Employment Authorization
Documents; Forms I-797,
Notice of Action; and Forms
I-94, Arrival/Departure Record
– collectively TPS-related documentation.”
DHS said it was extending
the TPS documentation to
Haiti and the other countries
in compliance with the preliminary
injunctions of the US
District Court for the Northern
District of California in
the cases of Ramos, et al. v.
Nielsen, et al. and the US District
Court for the Eastern District
of New York in Saget, et.
al., v. Trump, et. Al.
In addition, DHS said it was
extending TPS to those countries
in keeping with the order
of the US District Court for the
Northern District of California
to stay proceedings in the case
of Bhattarai v. Nielsen.
“If the government prevails
in its challenge to the Ramos
preliminary injunction, TPS
for beneficiaries under Haiti’s
designation may continue pursuant
to the Saget preliminary
injunction,” said DHS in
a statement.
“However, should the government
prevail in its challenges
to both the Ramos preliminary
injunction and the
Saget preliminary injunction,
the Secretary’s (DHS) determination
to terminate TPS for
Haiti will take effect no earlier
than 120 days from the issuance
of the later of the two
appellate mandates to the District
Court,” it added.
In early March, Caribbean
Caribbean L 34 ife, November 8-14, 2019 BQ
American Congresswoman
Yvette D. Clarke joined three of
her congressional colleagues
in introducing the Dream and
Promise Act, also known as
H.R. 6, in the US House of
Representatives that would
allow the US-raised immigrant
youth known as “Dreamers”
to earn lawful permanent residence
and American citizenship.
Clarke, the daughter of
Jamaican immigrants, said the
legislation — which is co-authored
by US House Speaker
Nancy Pelosi, Lucille Roybal-
Allard, another Democrat
from California, and Nydia
Velázquez, a New York Congressional
Democrat — is the
116th Congress’s version of the
Dream Act, a bill which has
been introduced since 2001.
However, Clarke, representative
for the 9th Congressional
District in Brooklyn, said H.R.
6 includes protections and a
path to citizenship not just for
Dreamers but also for TPS for
Haitians, among others, and
Deferred Enforced Departure
(DED) beneficiaries.
“We need comprehensive
immigration reform that protects
Dreamers, as well as TPS
Caribbean-American Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke.
Photo by Nelson A. King, File
and DED beneficiaries,” Clarke
said. “That’s why I am proud to
be a co-lead on the Dream and
Promise Act (HR 6).
“This bill will include a path
to citizenship for Dreamers,
as well as for people covered
by Temporary Protected Status
and Deferred Enforced Departure,”
she added. “This bill
builds upon the Dream Act,
the American Promise Act, and
the ASPIRE TPS Act, which I
introduced last Congress.”
Clarke told Caribbean Life
that the Dream and Promise
Act allows Dreamers and individuals
with TPS and DED to
“contribute fully in the country
they love and know to be their
home by providing a pathway
to citizenship.”
Trump extends TPS for Haitians