Overview:
With the February 2026 expiration of Short-term Protected Standing (TPS) for Haitians approaching, members of the Home Haiti Caucus have initiated a discharge petition to drive a vote on laws that will lengthen TPS for an additional three years. Lawmakers and advocates say ending TPS wouldn’t solely displace Haitians but additionally disrupt important sectors like elder care and well being providers that depend on immigrant labor.
Because the February deadline for Short-term Protected Standing (TPS) for Haitians approaches, members of the Home Haiti Caucus have initiated a discharge petition to drive a vote on laws that will lengthen Haiti’s TPS designation for 3 years. A discharge petition requires signatures from a majority of members of the U.S. Home of Representatives to bypass committee evaluate.
Talking concerning the urgency of maintaining Haitians in the US throughout a press convention in Washington, D.C., this week, the coalition of lawmakers, advocates, and neighborhood teams emphasised that the difficulty extends effectively past immigration enforcement. They described it as each a humanitarian necessity and a urgent financial concern, notably for the U.S. care economic system.
Consultant Ayanna Pressley, a Massachusetts Democrat whose state is house to almost 5,000 Haitian TPS holders, framed the trouble as an ethical and financial crucial.
“We can’t ignore the contributions of TPS holders who work in important sectors like healthcare, elder care, manufacturing, and caregiving, sectors already strained by labor shortages and demographic shifts,” she stated.
Flanked by immigrant advocacy organizations, labor unions, and enterprise teams, lawmakers introduced this newest transfer as a part of a broader effort to guard TPS holders from deportation insurance policies that will in any other case take impact. To drive a ground vote, Pressley’s discharge petition should accumulate 218 signatures within the Home.
TPS background and stakes
Greater than 350,000 Haitian nationals are at present coated beneath the TPS designation, a humanitarian immigration standing permitting people from nations going through extraordinary crises to stay within the U.S. and work legally. With out an extension previous the present Feb. 3, 2026, expiration date, Haitians on TPS would threat detention or deportation until they qualify for different immigration pathways.
The push for a legislative vote unfolds amid ongoing controversy over federal dealing with of TPS for Haiti. The Trump administration moved to terminate Haiti’s designation, a choice partially blocked by a federal court docket that upheld protections by means of early 2026, highlighting deep divisions in immigration coverage and humanitarian obligations.
Critics of the upcoming expiration argue that Haiti continues to endure extreme instability — together with widespread violence, displacement, and weakened public providers — situations continuously cited when TPS designations are first granted. They warn that stripping protections now might undercut years of financial contributions and fragment communities.
“Haiti is going through extraordinary instability, and forcing folks again into disaster is indefensible,” stated Congressman Maxwell Frost. “This petition focuses on defending individuals who have constructed their lives right here and contribute in significant methods to our communities, and I hope our Republican colleagues who converse usually about public security select to assist it.”
Position of TPS holders within the care economic system
Teams such because the Nationwide TPS Alliance, SEIU, and LeadingAge have sounded alarms concerning the ripple results the expiration might have on seniors and households who depend on long-term care providers. Immigrants make up a big share of the direct care workforce — roughly 28% of direct long-term care employees nationwide — and function important aides in nursing properties and residential care settings.
With the U.S. inhabitants aged 65 and older projected to develop considerably by 2050 and demand for care rising accordingly, policymakers warn that shedding skilled caregivers would solely worsen present workforce shortages.
Advocates and policymakers highlighted that immigrants are disproportionately represented in caregiving roles — particularly house well being and private care aides — and that adjustments to TPS standing might erode staffing at a time when demand is rising. They’ve cited a collection of figures illustrating TPS holders’ position in healthcare and associated fields, together with:
- Haitian TPS holders contribute an estimated $35.9 billion yearly to the U.S. economic system
- TPS holders characterize a major share of non-citizen healthcare employees
- Immigrants comprise about 28% of direct long-term care employees
- The senior inhabitants (age 65+) is projected to rise considerably by 2050
LeadingAge President and CEO Katie Smith Sloan, whose group represents nonprofit getting old providers suppliers, warned that many organizations would stand to lose important workforce segments in a brief interval, together with nursing assistants and assist employees, if TPS protections lapse.
“Overseas-born employees are important to the nation’s getting old providers sector, and up to date immigration coverage adjustments, reminiscent of the approaching termination of Haitian TPS, are exacerbating the getting old providers’ sector’s well-documented and rising workforce wants,” Sloan stated.
“America’s inhabitants is quickly getting old. Demand for care is rising. And now, suppliers throughout the nation are shedding longtime, legally approved caregivers, breaking trusted relationships and widening staffing gaps that immediately threaten older adults’ entry to wanted care.”
Authorized challenges underway
On the similar time, the controversy over TPS is enjoying out in federal courts. For instance, NTPSA v. Noem, at present earlier than the Ninth Circuit Courtroom of Appeals, challenges the federal authorities’s choice to terminate TPS for a number of nations, arguing that the Division of Homeland Safety didn’t justify its coverage change beneath the Administrative Process Act and departed from prior country-condition assessments.
Plaintiffs within the case additionally increase constitutional claims alleging discriminatory intent. The federal authorities denies these allegations, asserting that TPS selections adjust to relevant regulation.
Including to the uncertainty, the U.S. Supreme Courtroom issued an emergency order in late 2025 permitting the termination of TPS for Venezuelans to proceed whereas litigation continues, a procedural transfer often known as motion on the Courtroom’s “shadow docket.”