Rep. Meeks Statement on TPS Extension for Haiti

Rep. Meeks Statement on TPS Extension for Haiti

Washington, D.C.—Senior Member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Congressman Gregory W. Meeks, issued the following statement after Department of Homeland Secretary John Kelly announced that the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) program will be extended for six months:

"I sent numerous letters to Secretary Kelly—on behalf of the more than 20,000 Haitians living in New York City and the thousands living elsewhere—imploring the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to extend Haiti's TPS program for eighteen months. While Haiti was not granted the full eighteen month extension we had sought, the program will be extended for six months. Hopefully, in the coming months, the United States and Haitian governments can work together to ensure a successful rebuilding of Haiti. Given the need for further progress, we will have to seek another extension, to ensure that Haiti can successfully reabsorb the nearly 60,000 Haitian TPS recipients into its country."