Three congressional Democrats will join immigrant care workers, seniors, faith leaders, and labor advocates at the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday morning to press the Supreme Court to preserve Temporary Protected Status for Haitians and other vulnerable populations, one day before the justices hear oral arguments in a case that could reshape the program’s future.
The press conference is scheduled for 10 a.m. ET at the House Triangle, will be led by Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.), Sen. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), and Sen. Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.). Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) is also slated to participate, according to an announcement from Pressley’s office.
The gathering arrives at a pivotal moment for hundreds of thousands of TPS holders.
The Supreme Court is set to take up the Trump administration’s effort to terminate TPS designations covering Haiti, Venezuela, Syria, and additional countries that the federal government has previously found too dangerous or unstable for nationals to safely return. The administration’s bid to wind down the protections has drawn legal challenges across multiple federal circuits before reaching the high court.
The Capitol Hill event also follows a significant legislative development for Haitian TPS holders specifically. On April 16, the House adopted a discharge petition spearheaded by Pressley that would extend TPS for Haiti by three years. The measure, which forced the bill out of committee and onto the floor, now awaits action in the Senate.
Joining the three lawmakers will be the Most Rev. Evelio Menjivar-Ayala, auxiliary bishop of Washington; Athena Jones, chair of the Home Care Chapter of SEIU Local 512; Jenn Stowe, executive director of the National Domestic Workers Alliance; Pierre Shostal of Goodwin House Alexandria; Todd Andrews, chief operating officer of Asbury Communities Inc.; and Rita Siebenaler of Goodwin House Bailey’s Crossroads.
The lineup, which pairs federal lawmakers with senior-care administrators and home care workers, reflects what organizers describe as the deepening intersection between immigration policy and the country’s long-term care system. The coalition is expected to argue that protecting immigrant care workers is essential to preventing further strain on an already fragile aging services workforce.
Immigrants account for roughly 28 percent of the U.S. direct care workforce and as many as one in three home care workers, according to research cited in the announcement. Advocates warn that any loss of work authorization tied to a TPS termination would disrupt continuity of care for older adults, intensify existing staffing shortages, and increase financial pressure on American families who often regard their caregivers as part of the household.
Temporary Protected Status, established by Congress in 1990, allows nationals of designated countries to legally live and work in the United States when armed conflict, environmental disaster, or other extraordinary conditions in their home nations make safe return impossible. Designations are reviewed periodically by the Department of Homeland Security.
The outcome of Wednesday’s oral arguments — and the Supreme Court ruling that follows — could significantly affect the executive branch’s authority to terminate TPS designations and determine the legal footing of TPS holders living and working across the United States. Media seeking to cover Tuesday’s press conference have been asked to RSVP through Pressley’s office.
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