For decades, Haiti has been facing a humanitarian crisis with ongoing violence and instability. The U.S. State Department maintains a Level 4: Do Not Travel advisory for the country, and the Federal Aviation Administration currently prohibits any commercial flights from the United States to the capital of Port-au-Prince. In January, Bishop Brendan Cahill, chairman of the USCCB’s Committee on Migration, and Bishop A. Elias Zaidan, chairman of the Committee on International Justice and Peace, made clear “[t]here is simply no realistic opportunity for the safe and orderly return of people to Haiti at this time.”
Last November, despite ongoing conditions, the Secretary of Homeland Security announced the termination of temporary protected status (TPS) for Haiti, effective February 3, 2026. While the TPS termination was challenged in court, the recent resolution of that case paves the way for it to move forward and deprive so many vulnerable Haitians of their ability to remain here. Hours after the Supreme Court decision was announced, Archbishop Thomas Wenski, FCCB president, held a press conference, stating that "it would be an act of abject cruelty for the United States to send families back" to the "dangerous and unsafe conditions" that prevail in Haiti.
Temporary protected status allows nationals of a particular country who have been present in the US since a specified date and who pass criminal background checks to remain lawfully for the duration of the TPS designation. As of June 2026, over 300,000 Haitians in the United States were relying on TPS. While the bishops have recognized TPS is a temporary measure, forcibly returning thousands of families to Haiti at this moment would not only endanger their lives but would further destabilize Haiti itself, plunging it further into crisis.
In March, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bipartisan bill that would require the Secretary of Homeland Security to extend Haiti’s TPS designation to 2029 (H.R. 1689). The Senate version of that bill was introduced in June (S. 4814).
“This would be an incredible lifeline for these desperate people, so they could avoid returning to the chaos,” said Archbishop Wenski.
Now is the time to appeal to our US Senators to support S. 4814 to prevent this injustice.
