Sen. Bill Nelson called on the Trump Administration Thursday to extend Temporary Protected Status for nearly 60,000 Haitians living in the United States until at least July 2019.
According to a press release, Nelson sent a letter to Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Elaine Duke, requesting TPS to be extended 18 months beyond its current expiration date of January 22, 2018.
“Given Haiti’s continued recovery from the 2010 earthquake and last fall’s Category 4 hurricane, I strongly urge you to grant a full, 18-month extension of Temporary Protected Status for the roughly 60,000 Haitian nationals living here in the U.S.,” Nelson wrote.
Nelson says the U.S. should be focused on helping the island nation recover from two devastating natural disasters, rather than sending people home to a country that can’t support them.
On Friday, Nelson will meet with a group of Haitian American community leaders in Miami to discuss the issue and how it’s affecting them.
