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The United States House of Representatives approved on Wednesday a procedural vote of 219-209 to advance the bill H.R. 1689, which would require the Department of Homeland Security to restore Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for approximately 350,000 Haitian immigrants, in a direct challenge to President Donald Trump's immigration policy.
Six Republicans crossed party lines to vote alongside Democrats, including Cuban Americans María Elvira Salazar and Carlos A. Giménez.
In addition to the two of them, the following voted alongside the Democrats: Brian Fitzpatrick from Pennsylvania; Don Bacon from Nebraska; and Mike Lawler and Nicole Malliotakis from New York.
"Eliminating TPS status for Haitians living in the United States would cost 350,000 workers their ability to work at a time when we are already facing a severe labor shortage," Bacon wrote on X.
"I have heard from healthcare providers and business leaders across Nebraska, including @OmahaChamber, who are concerned about the impact this would have on patient care and our economy. I do not see the goodness in deporting people who are here legally, working and contributing to our country," he added.
The measure was prompted by a discharge petition led by Democratic Representative Ayanna Pressley from Massachusetts, co-chair of the Haiti Caucus in the House, who gathered the 218 necessary signatures on March 28 of this year.
It is one of the rare 15 cases in which a request of this type has reached that threshold in the last forty years, making this movement an uncommon legislative event.
"This is a critical step in our fight for justice for immigrants and to provide our Haitian neighbors with the protections they deserve, and it is a testament to the strength of our broad, diverse, and bipartisan coalition."
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