Ayanna Pressley

Hello newsletter subscribers! A quick programming note before we dive into the news — we are going to start delivering Immigration Unmasked every other week for the near future. The pace of ICE-related news in New England has slowed a bit, and while it remains an urgent focus for us, this schedule makes sense to us for now. Rest assured, if the situation on the ground changes, we’ll adjust as needed.

I write to you with some updates on a crucial measure that currently shields some 350,000 Haitian nationals across the US from deportation.

The Trump administration since last year has worked to terminate this special class of legal protections granted to Haitians — as well as Hondurans, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans. Formally called Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, the program shields immigrants whose home countries are undergoing armed conflict, environmental disasters, or other extraordinary country conditions, from deportation.

President Trump’s effort to end TPS protection, part of his wider crackdown on legal immigration, has faced mounting legal challenges. The Supreme Court is expected to rule on the case this summer.

Haitians in this country, however, potentially have another lifeline on the horizon. On Thursday, the US House passed bipartisan legislation to extend this status for Haitians through 2029, my colleague Julian E.J. Sorapuru in Washington reported. In a somewhat surprising move, 10 Republicans sided with Democrats, breaking party lines.

In Boston, Haitian American advocates and community leaders were heartened. “It’s a wonderful moment,” said Geralde Gabeau, the executive director of Immigrant Family Services Institute Inc., a Mattapan-based nonprofit and one of the leading groups supporting Haitians in Boston.

Greater Boston has the third largest Haitian diaspora in the country, following Florida and New York. An estimated 45,000 Haitian TPS holders live in Massachusetts, where many work in health care, across nursing homes and hospitals in the region.

Many Haitians in Massachusetts have been living in the region for decades, with some relying on TPS since 2010, when the US government designated Haitian nationals for these protections after an earthquake devastated the country. Now, deadly violence grips the country, with gangs controlling as much as 90% of the country’s capital, Port-au-Prince.

Many Haitians have told me it is too unsafe for them to return, and as the Trump administration has tried to roll back their deportation protections, they’re not sure what comes next for them. The House vote seemed to offer some comfort.

“Knowing all the pain, all of the anxiety and all of the issues that our community is facing – to me, it’s such a big relief for them to know there is hope,” Gabeau told me on Thursday after the House voted on the legislation.

Massachusetts Representative Ayanna Pressley, a Democrat who is the co-chair for the House Haiti Caucus, has been a staunch advocate in Washington for Haitians under TPS. She pushed forward despite many obstacles, using a procedural measure called a discharge petition in order to get a vote.

Gabeau has been collaborating with Pressley and others to drive the discharge petition forward, even as many people initially had doubts. But they had to try anyway – and now, she said: “We’re going to do everything in our power to get to the finish line.”

On Thursday, Carline Desire had been watching the results of the House vote closely. She leads the Association of Haitian Women in Boston, a Dorchester-based group that works to advance social and economic opportunities for Haitian women across the area. Desire said that Thursday’s vote represented a major step forward for a community that has spent the last year “really on edge.”

She was especially reassured to see that the legislation had bipartisan support. “We are a nation of immigrants. Most immigrants have just been phenomenal in enhancing so many different aspects of our society,” she told me. “There are some who really meet across the aisle to make sure that we do the right thing as a nation.”

Still, the bill faces difficult odds in the Senate, where the legislation needs 60 votes to pass. Advocates in Boston are pushing for the momentum to continue.

“The urgency remains clear: Haitian families cannot wait,” said Ruthzee Louijeune, an at-large city councilor in Boston and the first Haitian American elected to Boston municipal government. “We call on the Senate to move without delay and deliver protections that reflect the realities on the ground.”

QUOTED

It’s time to get back home. ... I’ve really always put my family first."

Local immigration news

Todd Lyons, ICE head and South Boston native, on why he’s leaving the Trump administration The Boston Globe

Rümeysa Öztürk, Tufts University grad arrested by ICE agents last year, returns to Turkey The Boston Globe

Mounting fear of ICE disrupts early childhood education centers The Boston Globe

Trump administration fires Boston immigration judge who blocked Tufts student Rümeysa Öztürk’s deportation The Boston Globe

Around the country

A protester threw a snowball. Federal agents responded with tear gas and pepper balls. ProPublica

Aliya Rahman files complaint against DHS, sets stage for federal lawsuit HuffPost

ICE agent charged with two felonies for allegedly pointing gun at motorists during surge The Minnesota Star Tribune

Resources

You can find our list of resources in multiple languages here.

In Focus

Giulia McDonnell Nieto del Rio can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her @giuliamcdnr.