The Biden administration is reportedly considering a redesignation of temporary protected status for Haitian immigrants newly arrived in the United States, learned the CaribbeanTelevisionNetwork, from a source close to the government.
Governors of several states have made the request publicly to the American president.
Massachusetts Governor Maura Healy has urged the federal government to take urgent steps to re-designate temporary protected status for Haitians in the United States illegally.
“All I need is for the Biden administration to give us temporary work permits for the people who are here, many of whom come with skills, you know, many of them were skilled in a particular industry in their home country and just want to work, so we need that to happen,” said the Massachusetts governor, who also called for funding to better address the migration crisis in Massachusetts.
Maura Healey made these statements this week while participating in a program organized by WGBH at the Copley branch of the Boston Public Library.
Last week, the Biden administration granted TPS to nearly half a million Venezuelans. This decision was taken after intense negotiations with elected Democrats in the state of New York, which is home to the vast majority of Venezuelans who have recently arrived in the United States.
For Maura Healy, this measure should be extended to other immigrant groups, including Haitians, many of whom are in Massachusetts.
“I don’t know why it was limited to Venezuelans. Here in Massachusetts, we see a significant number of Haitians, and they should have this opportunity too,” pleaded Ms. Healey.
Officials in several states and immigrant rights organizations have reportedly already spoken with the Department of Homeland Security about the possibility of re-designating TPS for several other countries, including Haiti.
If granted, the new designation would not apply to migrants arriving in the United States on or after October 1, we have learned.
Since the creation of the parole program, commonly known as the Biden program, a considerable drop has been recorded at the US-Mexico border. This decrease was short-lived, however, as thousands of migrants continue to cross the southern border illegally every day.
For the governor of Massachusetts, this migratory crisis is the result of the inaction of Congress, which has not passed any immigration laws for several decades.
“It’s also the result of years of failure and abdication of responsibility on the part of Congress – you know, failure on immigration reform, failure to address certain things, which is why we are where we are today,” lamented a frustrated and overwhelmed Maura Healy.
Massachusetts is the third largest destination for Haitian immigrants in the USA, after New York and Florida. The state of Indiana has also become another favorite destination for Haitians.
Since the introduction of the new parole program, the state of Massachusetts has seen a staggering increase in its immigrant population. New reception centers have been created by the Governor’s office. “I think we’re the only state in the country to have set up reception centers like we have, where we have people doing incredible work to make sure people are taken care of,” boasted Maura Healey, who nevertheless lamented the lack of resources to fly to the aid of refugees.
“Every day, my team must work to quickly find accommodations in hotels, motels or other shelters within an existing shelter network to house these families and ensure that service providers are present to provide them with food, healthcare and other services. I continue to implore the Biden administration directly to the White House and the Department of Homeland Security, as this is a federal issue and we need help to prevent the state from bearing the burden of this situation.”
Other measures have also been adopted to ease the burden on illegal migrants and reduce the pressure on the federal government and the states.
This is particularly the case for asylum seekers, who can now obtain a five-year employment card while waiting for their case to be processed by an immigration officer or judge.