Good News! Donald Trump has finally delivered on his promise to be the Haitians champion. Just minutes ago, he signed to renew TPS for 60, 000 Haitians in the program for another 18 months. Homeland Security Department said conditions in Haiti have improved significantly and as a result, the program will be extended for the last time.
Protection will expire on July 22, 2019, giving Haitians living in the United States under TPS an 18-month window to return to their homeland in trouble or legalize their status in the United States. At the end of the period, Haitians will resume the immigration status they previously held, which will expose them to possible detention and deportation.
“I do not remember a moment when a decision was not made to trigger this automatic extension,” said Royce Murray, director of policy at the American Immigration Council.
Murray and others said the non-decision on Honduras underscored tensions in the Trump administration over TPS, a source familiar with the noted procedures focused on a recent State Department report on conditions. from the country. The source, who was not allowed to speak to the press, said the US foreign service agents were under considerable pressure from the DHS, with state politicians and politicians at variance.
“It seems to us as foreigners, the people who are most familiar with the conditions of the country in these foreign countries are the most inclined to an extension. Those who are removed from the country’s conditions and are more focused on the politics of this country have gone the other way, “said Murray after announcements from Nicaragua and Honduras. “I think the tensions have been very real.”
In the case of Haiti, defenders say the country is not in a position to manage the influx, seven years after the 7.0 billion-dollar earthquake, 300,000 dead, 1.5 million injured and an equal number of internally displaced persons.
And the country remains vulnerable. Hurricane Matthew hit $ 2.8 billion in damage last year, followed by hurricanes Irma and Maria, and the country continues to suffer from a deadly outbreak of cholera, a disease introduced by US peacekeepers. Last week, the Office of Emergency Preparedness confirmed that at least five people had died and that 10,000 homes had been flooded after days of rain.
