Archbishop Wenski, Ohio bishops call for action on Haitian TPS

Archbishop Thomas Wenski of Miami and bishops across Ohio are calling for extended Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haitians living in the United States and are urging a more permanent solution to care for refugees.

In April, the U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation, H.R. 1689, that would extend TPS for Haitians for three more years, which is “a critical lifeline for those desperate to avoid returning to the chaos on the island nation,” Wenski said in a column for the Archdiocese of Miami. Senate consideration is next.

TPS is an immigration status granted to eligible foreign nationals from designated countries that are unsafe to return to due to ongoing conflict, environmental disasters, or other extraordinary conditions.

In 2025, then-Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem terminated the TPS designation for migrants from Syria, Haiti, and other countries.

To combat the termination, the bill, which needs Senate approval to take effect, would provide “a reprieve to the more than 350,000 Haitians who today live and work legally in the United States under the protection of TPS,” Wenski said.

“Every single day, I see the human consequences of often unintended public policy decisions that result in chronic uncertainty, fear, and the disruption of families and entire communities. It’s up to the Senate now to vote ‘yes’ on extending TPS protections for Haitians,” he said.

Wenski said Haiti “remains a country on the brink,” noting the “widespread gang violence and kidnapping, a rampant cholera epidemic, and spreading food insecurity.”

“The lack of functioning state institutions has resulted in a general breakdown of security, with attacks on women and children becoming commonplace,” he said.

“It would be an act of abject cruelty for the United States to send families back to such dangerous and unsafe conditions” and it would “exacerbate Haiti’s ongoing humanitarian crisis,” Wenski said.

Haitians in the U.S. “are hard workers filling jobs that, were it not for them, would go unfilled,” Wenski said. “The sudden expulsion of Haitian TPS holders would have devastating consequences for our nation’s economy.”

Wenski said he understands that “‘temporary’ should mean temporary,” but “without any other workable alternative, TPS is what’s available.”

It is “an imperfect tool,” and “cannot substitute for the hard work of immigration reform that Congress has to undertake sooner or later,” he said.

Senate passage of the bill would “give Haitians a reprieve” and “lawmakers time to explore more durable, more workable solutions.”

Ohio bishops ‘deeply grieved’ by situation of Haitian neighbors

The Ohio bishops similarly spoke out on the matter, calling the situation “a moral and social failure unfolding before our eyes.”

The Catholic Conference of Ohio released a statement on June 22 urging action as the bishops are “deeply grieved by the situation of our Haitian neighbors in Ohio.”

Ahead of the 250th anniversary of the U.S., “we recall the great declarations in our founding documents to establish a free country where people can flourish,” the bishops wrote. “Therefore, as proud and faithful citizens of the United States, we need to take responsibility to support the common good of our country and to love our neighbors as ourselves.”

The bishops “have witnessed the upstanding lives Haitian families have built in Ohio.”

“They work hard, support their families, worship God regularly, and seek to live in peace. Now, they await the U.S. Supreme Courtʼs decision, likely on technical grounds, on whether TPS will continue,” they said.

The Supreme Court is reviewing the governmentʼs effort to end TPS as lower courts previously blocked the termination after determining the administration’s process for ending the protections was unlawful.

The court heard oral arguments in April and is expected to make a decision in the coming months on whether the Trump administration can end the TPS program for Haitian and Syrian nationals.

The bishops “find no moral justification for terminating their [TPS] without an alternative way to adjust their immigration status,” they said.

While the bishops affirmed “the nation’s right and responsibility to regulate immigration and protect its borders,” they said the U.S. “has continued to fail in its attempts to achieve comprehensive reform of our immigration policy.”

“We should have the political and social will to establish and maintain an orderly immigration process while providing a place in the U.S. for those fleeing violence or severe economic hardship,” they said.

The bishops called on Catholics in Ohio and all people of goodwill “to pray for America at 250 years and to reflect on our responsibility as citizens and followers of Jesus Christ.”

Source: https://www.ewtnnews.com/world/us/archbishop-wenski-ohio-bishops-call-for-action-on-haitian-tps