Frankie Cordeira Jr.

Description: Haitians get 6 months' protection from deportation but told to get ready to go... Haitian immigrants who have been enrolled in the Temporary Protected Status program will get another six months extension Miami Democratic Rep. Frederica Wilson said. Wilson told the Miami Herald that she was informed of the decision Monday morning after receiving a phone call from the Department of Homeland Security. Her office was in the midst of a Twitter storm pushing to renew the program which has given 58000 Haitians protection from deportation since their homeland was devastated by an earthquake on Jan. 12 2010. Wilson with other Democratic and Republican lawmakers plus Haitian and immigration advocates had been fighting for an 18-month extension. The acting director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services had recommended six months extension with termination of the program in January. You have to take everything you get and you have to maximize what you get. Within that six months you have to work your magic Wilson said. Wilson said she is extending a personal invitation to DHS Secretary John Kelly to travel with her to Haiti in the coming months so that he can see in person why sending 58000 Haitians back is unconscionable. We just can't deport people back to those conditions. Tent cities still remain from the earthquake she said. I want them to go with me because... They will take you and you will never see the tent cities. I want someone to go with me. I will be sure to take them to the places to see so that they will be more inclined to extend it even further. Haitian and immigration advocates had hoped to win an 18-month extension for tens of thousands of Haitians who have been protected from deportation since their homeland was hit the earthquake seven years ago. Jimmy Parfait a North Miami Beach resident who is enrolled in the TPS program along with his mother Marie said six months is better than outright termination. You never know. They will probably extend it for another six months he said. Hopefully something good comes out of it. DHS decision comes after unprecedented advocacy by organizations and individuals. Over the weekend artists from hip hop star Wyclef Jean to several Haitian konpa musicians called on Kelly and President Donald Trump to extend TPS. Concert attendees during the two-day Haitian Compas Festival were also provided with phone numbers for DHS and the White House. And on Monday a Tweet up was started to #SayYestoTPS and to #SaveTPS.
By Frankie Cordeira Jr.
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