Handing a Rebuke to Cruel Trump Immigration Agenda, Larson and House Democrats Vote to Protect Haitians Fleeing Violence from Deportation

Washington, D.C. - Today, Rep. John B. Larson (CT-01) voted to extend Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for 350,000 Haitians living in the United States - handing a defeat to the Trump Administration's illegal plan to abruptly end these protections and deport Haitians fleeing gang violence. This rebuke comes after Democrats launched a successful discharge petition, forcing a vote in spite of Republican leadership's refusal to bring it to the floor.

"Kristi Noem broke the law when she tried to rip apart families in our communities and deport people fleeing violence," said Larson. "She may be gone, but the Trump Administration is forging ahead with their illegal plan to end protections for 350,000 Haitians living in the United States. The Supreme Court is set to hear this case later this month, but our constituents cannot afford for us to wait for a court decision. I stood with thousands of my constituents and my colleague, Ayanna Pressley, to force action in the United States Congress on extending Temporary Protected Status now. I was glad to see the small handful of our Republican colleagues who joined us on this important vote and urge the Senate to act before our Haitian neighbors are put in danger once again by this administration."

In February, Larson signed Rep. Ayanna Pressley's discharge petition to force a vote on extending Temporary Protected Status for Haiti. He also signed an amicus brief to the Supreme Court in support of Haitian and Syrian TPS recipients. They will hear oral arguments in two cases challenging former Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem's decision to end these protections, which was ruled unlawful by the 9^thCircuit Court of Appeals in January.