The decision by the Department of Homeland Security to end Temporary Protected Status for 59,000 Haitian migrants in June 2019 triggered a wave of hostile reactions from left-wing groups and their business allies.
The department is guilty of racism for telling the Haitians — many of whom entered the country before 2010 as illegal immigrants — that they must return home after spending at least nine years in the United States, said two groups that favor amnesty and continued illegal immigration.
#BREAKING: In yet another demonstration of its white supremacist roots, Trump admin moves to end TPS for Haitians. We stand with our Haitian brothers and sisters and demand Congress act immediately to protect all TPS holders and enable them to adjust their status. #SaveTPS https://t.co/a1AnSDQF2n
— Make the Road NY (@MaketheRoadNY) November 21, 2017
This is another attack on immigrants and people of color – this is why we are committed to the protection for all undocumented people
We are standing with the Haitian community and over 50,000 Haitian TPS holders.https://t.co/ZUmMBLLmok https://t.co/ZUmMBLLmok
— United We Dream Action (@UNITEDWEDREAM) November 21, 2017
Establishment progressive groups skipped the racism claims but declared “disgust” and the offered the routine celebration of divide-and-rule “diversity.” Americans’ Voice described the Haitians as “settled immigrants” even though the migrants have been allowed to stay in the United States under the “Temporary Protected Status” rule, which does not provide a legal pathway to legal immigration.
The decision to end Haitian TPS by this Administration is another in a long line of moves designed to drive settled immigrants out of the country. Trump and his team are taking a wrecking ball to the Statue of Liberty, and they are destabilizing the region.
— Frank Sharry (@FrankSharry) November 21, 2017
The Democratic National Committee described Trump’s enforcement of the law as “cruelty,” and ignored the interests of Americans voters who have seen their wages flatline for the last several decades in a high-immigration, low-wage economy.
.@TomPerez on Trump's decision to end Haiti's TPS: pic.twitter.com/7bSXuhDZzb
— DNC Press (@dncpress) November 21, 2017
Tom Jawetz, the vice president for immigration policy at the far-left Center for American Progress, complained that DHS officials should not return the Haitians because post-2010 disasters have also damaged the nation.
Hard to think of a more unprincipled decision than the one made tonight by the Trump administration and @DHSgov to end TPS for Haitians. /1 https://t.co/EbskmAylIT
— Tom Jawetz (@TomJawetz) November 21, 2017
Business-backed advocates complained about the loss of cheap labor and welfare-aided consumers.
For example, Ali Noorani, the executive director of the business-backed National Immigration Forum, claimed the return of Haitians to their home country would shrink the Florida economy, but had nothing to say about how Americans and legal immigrants would gain from the departure of the Haitian migrant workers. Noorani’s group is supported by agriculture-industry and blue-collar employers, so the loss of cheap Haitian labor is a clear loss to his supporters.
21k workers in Florida are Haitian TPS holders, $1.2 billion would be lost from state GDP annually without Haitian workers who hold TPS, 32% of Haitian workers with TPS work in the accommodation and food services; 13% in retail trade; 10%in health care and social assistance 3/
— Ali Noorani (@anoorani) November 21, 2017
Todd Schulte runs the FWD.US lobby group for Silicon Valley investors. His chief priority is raising the annual inflow of white-collar guest-workers, so he opposes any actions that increase President Donald Trump’s ability to push his low-immigration, high-wage, pro-American policies through Congress. Currently, Trump is pushing the popular RAISE Act. The RAISE Act, which would halve annual immigration inflows by ending chain-migration, so pressuring employers — including Schulte’s board of directors — to raise Americans’ wages.
Breitbart talked to Stephen Miller. Miller has always wanted to end DACA to try to slash legal immigration by 60%-70%, which won't happen. But not passing Dreamer legislation, would be, per one House GOP told me, a "awful humanitarian & political apocalypse." Now trying with TPS. https://t.co/xGFZ3pTJ56
— Todd Schulte (@TheToddSchulte) November 21, 2017
The Chamber also complained about the loss of workers. The complaints came from Jon Baselice, a former staffer for Sen. Marco Rubio, who lost his presidential run by pushing the unpopular “Gang of Eight” amnesty-and-cheap-labor legislation in 2013, which would have flooded the labor market with roughly 33 million new legal workers over ten years.
Jon Baselice, Director of Immigration Policy, United States Chamber of Commerce: The announcement tonight is clearly disappointing. It's going to be highly disruptive to construction, food services, hospital workers, hospitality. #tps
— America's Voice (@AmericasVoice) November 21, 2017
Florida Republicans also complained about the enforcement of the TPS law, which is likely opposed by Florida employers.
I travelled to #Haiti after the earthquake in 2010 and after hurricane Matthew in 2016. So I can personally attest that #Haiti is not prepared to take back nearly 60,000 #TPS recipients under these difficult and harsh conditions.
— Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (@RosLehtinen) November 21, 2017
Marco Rubio: ‘Extend TPS for Haitians in the United States’ https://t.co/VhGQ4njDJZ #SaveTPS
— Engage Miami (@EngageMIA) November 20, 2017
But pro-American immigration reformers — including Jessica Vaughan the policy director at the Center for Immigration Studies — are skeptical about the DHS decision because they fear it might just become another extension, following a series of extensions that have kept the Haitians in the country since 2010. The 18-month delay before the Haitian’s documents expire provides Democrats with a lot of time to push and pull for yet another extension.
Why would anyone believe that TPS will actually end, when they just got another 18 months, like every other time before? Administration looks very susceptible to sob stories and lobbying. https://t.co/76sQMThuYf
— Jessica Vaughan (@JessicaV_CIS) November 21, 2017
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