Speech #CREC-2017-11-06-pt1-PgH8513-3_t13

This is not citizenship, and this is not amnesty. Rather, it is a way of protecting human life while allowing eligible individuals from Haiti, Yemen, Honduras, Nicaragua, and numerous other countries across the world to earn wages for themselves and their loved ones abroad. Unfortunately, this administration's antipathy toward immigrants-- particularly immigrants of color--has found its way to some of the most vulnerable amongst us and threatens the existence of this commonsense program rooted in human decency and respect for life. This program of agreement is now being totally undermined with real lives hanging in the balance. For example, while it would seem obvious to extend Haiti's temporary protected status in light of the catastrophic 2010 earthquake, subsequent cholera epidemic, food insecurity crisis, and the damage inflicted by Hurricanes Matthew, Irma, and Maria, this administration only extended Haiti's status for 6 months in the month of May, while, at the same time, the administration insinuated that Haitian TPS recipients were criminals. The administration now appears ready to ignore the advice of Haiti experts in the United States and the request of the Haitian Ambassador by forcing some 50,000 Haitians to subject themselves to life- threatening conditions in Haiti. This would not just be tragic for those forced to return, it would also be detrimental to Haiti's economy which benefits significantly from the hard-earned remittances that Haitian TPS beneficiaries send back to their loved ones. It is also no way to treat a neighbor that is located less than a 2-hour flight away from American soil, the most impoverished nation of the Western Hemisphere. Indeed, such a decision would be cruel and unusual punishment. For this reason, I have worked with Congressman Cedric Richmond, chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, and my colleagues of the Congressional Black Caucus in sending a letter to Acting DHS Secretary Elaine Duke, signed by the entire Congressional Black Caucus, requesting a full 18-month extension of Haiti's TPS status. I also asked that Acting Secretary Duke take the Haitian Ambassador up on his invitation to visit Haiti and to see the conditions for herself. However, Haiti is not the only country that clearly merits an extension. Nearly 60,000 Hondurans and Nicaraguans currently await news of their fate, as will thousands of other immigrants from Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. While I hope that Acting Secretary Duke will do the right thing and make an evidence-based decision in light of the human cost to her actions, our experience teaches us that we must also prepare for the worst. Where this administration refuses to respect decades of bipartisan agreement, Congress must assert its constitutional powers and act to safeguard human life and American interests. I, therefore, call upon my congressional colleagues to come together and pass bipartisan legislation that will protect the hundreds of thousands of TPS beneficiaries from around the world--Black, brown, Asian and other--who are, at this moment, relying upon us for their very lives. Although we live in times of great division, now is the moment to come together and recommit to the basic values that unite us all. This country was founded upon the idea of human dignity, and TPS is yet another test of whether we will be true to that idea or fall painfully short. We must not fall short, but instead we must rise to the occasion. Mr. Speaker, TPS is something that falls within our purview to address. It is my sincere hope that we will address this impending crisis. When I think about Haitians who are living here, many who, at this stage, had children born in the United States, and many who are here during the most productive time of their lives when they can work because of their strength, their ability, and their intellect, it would be a travesty to begin separating families and to wrench from these individuals the opportunity to add value to our civil society while undergirding the nation of their birth, the nation that many hope to return to at the appropriate time by summarily excusing them from our civil society.