Republican Congressman Carlos Giménez of Florida broke ranks with the Trump administration on Sunday, urging the White House to reconsider its push to eliminate Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haitian migrants. Following a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that allows the administration to cut off temporary legal protections, Giménez warned that deporting approximately 350,000 Haitians to their homeland would be a grave mistake.
Giménez: Haiti Is a 'Failed State'
“Haiti is a failed state, and I think that deporting Haitians that are under TPS right now, back to Haiti, would be a huge mistake,” Giménez told CBS News. He also called for reinstating TPS for Venezuelans after record-breaking twin earthquakes struck north-central Venezuela on June 24. “TPS is meant to safeguard those who are either fleeing countries that are failed states and are at risk of going back to them or countries that really can’t handle them right now, as is the case with Venezuela that has suffered a natural disaster,” he said.
Giménez, whose family fled Cuba when he was seven, represents part of Miami-Dade County, home to some 110,000 residents of Haitian ancestry. His comments align with those of Ohio’s Republican Governor Mike DeWine, whose state hosts a thriving Haitian community in Springfield—a town that Donald Trump and JD Vance falsely targeted during their 2024 campaign to justify anti-immigration rhetoric.
Supreme Court Ruling and DHS Guidance
The Supreme Court ruling authorized the administration’s plans to end TPS for over 350,000 Haitians and approximately 6,000 Syrians. A guidance issued last week by the Department of Homeland Security stated that TPS Haiti beneficiaries will retain their status and employment authorization “until the lower courts align with the US Supreme Court’s favorable decision.”
DeWine and Lawler Join Opposition
DeWine called on the Trump administration last week to reconsider ending TPS for Haitians. “Look at how it’s going to impact states like Ohio. In Ohio, the Haitians are working primarily in manufacturing, they’re also working in the food area,” he told CNN. “It’s Haitians who, many times, are taking care of your mom or your dad who has Alzheimer’s, taking care of family members who might be in a nursing home. And to say we’re going to pull all those people out, it’s just not in our own self-interest.”
DeWine also argued that Haiti is “clearly” not safe, citing State Department travel advisories, and stressed that ending TPS “is not in the United States’s interest, certainly not in Ohio’s interest, to have people who are working every single day, who are supporting a family, who are buying houses, fixing up old houses, starting businesses, and then put deep roots in this country, and really are contributing – and yank them out.” He added, “I would hope the Trump administration would reconsider.”
New York Republican Congressman Mike Lawler, who represents a swing district and faces a tough midterm race, also opposes ending TPS for Haitians. Lawler noted that one-third of Haitian TPS holders work in healthcare. “Immediately shutting off TPS” would “create a crisis” in hospitals, nursing homes, and within the disabilities community, he said.
Giménez's Legislative Push
Giménez has previously urged the Trump administration to back away from ending TPS for Haitians and supported a bill requiring the Secretary of Homeland Security to designate Haiti for TPS until 2029. “Haiti today is overrun by violent gangs,” he said in a statement in April. “It is neither safe nor humane to force our neighbors back into those conditions.” Providing TPS, he added, “is not just sound policy – it’s the right thing to do and I’m proud to vote for this commonsense, bipartisan solution that ensures our Haitian neighbors can continue contributing to our community.”
The bill, HR 1689, passed the House 224–204 with support from South Florida lawmakers, including Republicans María Elvira Salazar, Mario Díaz-Balart, and Giménez, along with Democrats. The bill currently awaits consideration in the Senate.
