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White House reviewing TPS proposal for Haitians

Posted by CaribShout on August 9, 2009 at 10:36am
Speaking to a panel of reporters at the White House last week President Obama, after months of anticipation, especially among Haitians and persons sympathetic to Haiti, commented on the issue of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for undocumented Haitians residing in the U.S. The president, however, made no commitment that he could be considering an early approval of TPS that would allow the undocumented residents to remain in the U.S. Such approval would offset pressure on the Haitian government and on the Haitian infrastructure while the country rebounds from the devastating impact from four hurricanes that hit the country last year. According to reports the president did admit he is “very sympathetic,” to the Haitian situation, but suggested the issue would be part of a larger effort to overhaul migration laws. The proposal of approving TPS for undocumented Haitians is one that has been submitted to two White House administrations within the last year. Before the Bush administration demitted office last year, despite strong lobby by Haitian interests in America, Congressional representatives from Florida, and representatives of the Haitian government, the administration denied giving Haitians temporary stay in the US. This meant that thousands of illegal Haitians were earmarked to be sent back to the deeply impoverished country. Soon after Obama was sworn in as president, a new effort was made to have him approve TPS. Haiti’s president was among the first foreign leaders to call upon Secretary of State Hillary Clinton after she assumed office. The secretary and her husband, Bill, now a special US envoy to Haiti, have since visited the country and saw firsthand the devastation that is making life difficult for Haitians. In addition, a recent visit by Florida Congressional leaders, and their expressions of concerns of the situation in Haiti, plus assurances that they would implore the president to make a decision on TPS, gave rise for optimism that a positive decision was pending. However, Obama said his administration is still reviewing U.S. policy on deporting undocumented Haitians and would not commit to whether he supports allowing undocumented Haitian migrants to stay and work in the United States temporarily. The president said the review is not yet done, so he was not prepared to make news by saying there was a decision. He however, said that he was very sympathetic to the fact that Haiti has gone through very difficult times, and that a sudden influx of people from Florida back into Haiti would be a potential humanitarian problem. He suggested that a resolution to the situation in Haiti was going to be part of a broader conversation about immigration. The president has placed immigration reform as one of the priorities that he wants to have completed this year.

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