Haiti TPS Crisis Looms as Lawler Demands Trump Preserve Protections to Avert Healthcare Collapse

Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., has urgently called on the Trump administration to maintain temporary protected status for tens of thousands of Haitians in the U.S., labeling Haiti’s current conditions a “humanitarian and political disaster.”

The plea follows a recent Supreme Court ruling that established federal courts cannot review government decisions to end Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Syria and Haiti. Lawler emphasized on X that “the situation on the ground in Haiti is a humanitarian and political disaster and continues to warrant an extension,” citing the State Department’s Level 4 travel advisory warning Americans to evacuate and avoid travel due to gang control, widespread gun and drug trafficking, and kidnappings of civilians.

Lawler highlighted that approximately one-third of over 350,000 Haitian TPS holders work in critical healthcare settings, including hospitals and nursing homes. “Immediately shutting off TPS will create a crisis,” he stated, urging the administration to implement an orderly six-month process allowing Haitian TPS recipients to retain work authorization while immigration cases are adjudicated.

Lawler co-led a House bill passed in April that directs the Department of Homeland Security to designate Haiti for 18 months of TPS, though it remains pending Senate action after a 224-204 vote in the House. The request coincides with former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s initiation of steps to cancel Haitian TPS protections in February 2025 under President Trump’s pledge to limit the program.

The White House has characterized the Supreme Court decision as “a tremendous win” for its administration, reaffirming that TPS is “by definition temporary” and not intended as a pathway to permanent residency or legal status.