dailyloe.com – The U.S. House of Representatives delivered rare pushback on former President Trump’s immigration policies in a vote on Thursday. The vote was on a bill to stop the administration from ending temporary deportation protections for Haitian nationals living in the U.S. The bill passed in a 224 to 204 vote, with 11 Republicans and all Democrats voting in favor.
Democratic Rep. Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts spearheaded the effort to force a vote. She used a procedural tool known as a discharge petition. The tool hit the 218-signature threshold it needed to bypass GOP leadership. This allowed the measure to be brought to the floor in late March.
Four Republicans initially joined all Democrats in backing the discharge petition. They were Reps. Maria Elvira Salazar, Brian Fitzpatrick, Mike Lawler, and Don Bacon. In a procedural vote Wednesday, it also gained support from Reps. Nicole Malliotakis, Carlos Gimenez, and Kevin Kiley. This allowed the bill to proceed to the House floor.
The underlying bill was introduced last year by Democratic Rep. Laura Gillen of New York. It would require the Department of Homeland Security to extend temporary protected status for Haitians until 2029. The bill was cosponsored by Republican Rep. Mike Lawler. It mirrors one introduced by Secretary of State Marco Rubio in 2019, when he was a Florida senator.
The four other Republicans who joined on final passage included Reps. Mike Carey, Mario Diaz-Balart, Rich McCormick, and Mike Turner. The vote comes as the Supreme Court is set to weigh in on a legal battle. The battle is over the Trump administration’s efforts to roll back temporary deportation protections.
These protections cover hundreds of thousands of immigrants from Haiti and Syria. A federal judge blocked the administration from revoking legal protections for Haiti in February. This was one day before they were set to lapse. An appeals court panel declined to freeze the lower court’s decision.
Congress created the temporary protected status system in 1990. It allows immigrants to temporarily live and work in the U.S. without fear of deportation. This applies if DHS decides their home country is unsafe. Unsafe conditions include armed conflict, environmental disasters, or other extraordinary circumstances.
Haiti’s designation has been extended several times since 2010. A devastating earthquake that year left more than 300,000 people dead. The designation was most recently extended by the Biden administration.[]
Source: CBS News
