Rep. Gillen Joins Colleagues Ahead of House Passage of Discharge Petition on Her Bipartisan Bill Extending TPS for Haitians
The Bill Extending TPS for Haitians was Rep. Gillen’s First She Introduced in Congress.
WASHINGTON, DC — Today, Congresswoman Laura Gillen (NY-04) was joined by Representatives Ayanna Pressley (D-MA), Mike Lawler (R-NY), and House Democratic Whip Katherine Clark (D-MA) at a press conference before the House of Representatives’ passage of a bipartisan discharge petition to advance Rep. Gillen’s bill extending Haiti TPS for three years.
Since taking office, Rep. Gillen has been a leading advocate in Congress for safeguarding TPS for Haitians. In February 2025, she introduced a bipartisan bill directing the Department of Homeland Security to designate Haiti for TPS for 18 months beginning August 3, 2025. In June, following the Administration’s abrupt decision to terminate critical humanitarian parole for Haitian citizens, Rep. Gillen urged Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to reinstate the program. In September, she helpedpass a bill to crack down on criminal gangs and corrupt officials who are fueling the crisis in Haiti. Later that month, she signed onto an amicus brief challenging the Administration’s unlawful termination of Haiti’s TPS designation.
In January 2026, Rep. Gillen joined a bipartisan letter to the Administration urging an extension of TPS for Haitian nationals before the February 3rd expiration. She later celebrated the federal court decision preserving TPS for Haitians the day before its expiration. She also held multiple meetings with White House officials to advocate for continued protections for Haitian families residing lawfully in the United States.
Last month, Rep. Gillen secured the bipartisan support needed on a discharge petition to pass her bill extending TPS for Haitian by three years.
(As prepared for delivery)
Hello and good morning.
Thank you to my colleague Representative Pressley, the co-Chair of the Haiti Caucus, for her leadership and for kicking us off today.
I’m grateful for your partnership in our fight to protect our Haitian neighbors from being forced to return to the dangers in Haiti.
My district in Nassau County is home to one of the largest Haitian populations in the country and we are incredibly proud of that.
Haitian Long Islanders are part of the very fabric of our communities.
Haitians work in critical sectors like health care, education and caregiving, supporting our elderly and local hospitals.
Many have built thriving local businesses and enriched our faith community.
Before I came to Congress, I made a promise to our Haitian community in Nassau County on Long Island that I would use my voice and work with anyone to help protect this community and their existing legal status here in the United States.
Removing our neighbors would not just be a humanitarian catastrophe; it would hurt our economy.
So as soon as I got to Congress, the very first bill I introduced was a bipartisan bill to extend TPS for Haitians.
I introduced it with my Republican colleague, Representative Mike Lawler.
And for more than a year, I have been fighting to ensure the Trump administration does what’s right and reverses its cruel and misguided decision to end TPS for Haitians
The U.S. State Department currently lists Haiti at a Level Four: Do Not Travel advisory – the highest level that the State Department will designate for a country.
The Department website explains that it is too dangerous for American citizens to travel to Haiti because of kidnapping, gang violence, terrorist activities, widespread chaos, and limited health care.
Armed gangs control 90% of the capital, and more than 1.4 million innocent civilians, half of them children, have been forced from their homes.
It is cruel to expect Haitians to be forced to return to these deadly conditions.
I’ve spoken to many Haitian families who desperately want to see peace returned to their home country.
However, the safety and economic security they need to rebuild their lives are nonexistent.
On Monday, Leader Jeffries and I hosted a roundtable with Haitian leaders in my district, where we heard firsthand about the uncertainty the community is facing if TPS is not extended.
It has kept hard-working, law-abiding, and taxpaying members of our community from certain death.
Human lives are at risk, and families are at risk of being ripped apart.
One community leader who recently traveled to Haiti said that she was not allowed to travel to Port-au-Prince, the capital city.
It is so overrun by gangs and violence that you can’t even travel there.
She shared that there is a small part on the north end of the island where anyone who is sent to Haiti has to live with some semblance of safety.
For anyone forced to return there, the Haitian government would say, "You’re on your own.”
No housing and no promise of securing work.
It is a truly dire situation.
I met a young man, a TPS recipient, who has been in the United States for six years.
He worked hard, he graduated from college and now he’s giving back to his community.
He’s helping those who could also face the same fate as him if he loses this protection.
He’s decided to selflessly use the opportunity that he has been given, use his voice and give back.
He encapsulates the heart of the Haitian community and the true nature and humanity of the people we are trying to protect.
I am proud that, with the partnership of my Democratic and Republican colleagues, including Representatives Ayanna Pressley and Mike Lawler, we were able to move a discharge petition in the House to extend TPS for Haitians.
This week, we are going around House leadership and Speaker Mike Johnson with the intention to pass the very first bill that I introduced in Congress and deliver on a promise that I made before taking office to protect TPS for Haiti.
This is one of only five successful discharge petitions this Congress, which shows how important and rare this bipartisan issue is.
It affects districts across the country, red and blue.
This is an important milestone for our Haitian friends and neighbors in my district, in my colleagues’ districts, and others across the country.
I’m grateful for my colleagues' support, both Republican and Democrat, and shared leadership on this issue.
Thank you, and we look forward to today’s debate and hopeful passage.
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