by Katarina Hall
The Biden Administration announced on Monday that it would be extending special protections granted to Haitians, allowing them to live and work in the United States.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said in a statement that Haitians who currently have Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and whose status was close to expiring will have an additional 18 months to live and work in the country.
There are currently around 101,000 Haitians in the U.S. who hold the TSPS and another 53,000 who have applied. The announcement would grant new special protections and expand the eligibility for 100,000 Haitians that arrived in the country as of November 6, allowing them to live and work in the country.
The new designation is important for those migrants who arrived between the last cutoff for temporary status in 2021 and Nov. 6, as they have struggled to get their cases processed due to a backlog of asylum seeker applications. Those who arrived before Nov. 6 will have until August 3, 2024, to submit their applications.
The DHS made the announcement after Haiti has been grappling with a prolonged political crisis, gang violence, a scarcity of basic goods, and a cholera outbreak.
“The conditions in Haiti, including socioeconomic challenges, political instability, and gang violence and crime — aggravated by environmental disaster — compelled the humanitarian relief we are providing today,” the Homeland Security Secretary, Alejandro N. Mayorkas, said in a statement.
– – –
Katarina Hall is a reporter at ADN America.
Photo “Haitian Immigrants” by Fibonacci Blue. CC BY 2.0.
