# House passes bill extending Haitian legal protections despite Trump opposition  
**Published:** 2026-04-16T20:03:27.000Z  
**Source:** [Kentucky Lantern](https://kentuckylantern.com/2026/04/16/repub/with-gop-defections-us-house-passes-bill-extending-legal-status-for-350000-haitians/)  
**AI-generated:** yes (claude-haiku-4-5-20251001)  
**Canonical:** https://feeds.lexingtonky.news/article/house-passes-bill-extending-haitian-legal-protections-despite-trump-opposition

LEXINGTON, Ky. — The U.S. House on Thursday passed [legislation that would extend Temporary Protected Status for Haiti for three years](https://kentuckylantern.com/2026/04/16/repub/with-gop-defections-us-house-passes-bill-extending-legal-status-for-350000-haitians/), a rare rebuke to President Donald Trump's mass deportation campaign that saw ten Republicans and one independent defect from party lines.

The bill passed 224-204 after a bipartisan discharge petition forced the measure to the House floor, bypassing Republican leadership that had blocked the measure. The vote came just days before [the U.S. Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments](https://www.supremecourt.gov) over Trump's efforts to revoke legal protections for 350,000 Haitians and 6,000 Syrians.

Massachusetts Democratic Rep. Ayanna Pressley, co-chair of the House Haiti Caucus, initiated the discharge petition in January, arguing that mass deportation would endanger vulnerable populations. "To deport anyone to Haiti right now is unlawful, and it would be a death sentence," Pressley said at a Wednesday press conference.

The Republican defectors included Reps. Maria Salazar, Mario Díaz-Balart and Carlos Giménez of Florida; Rich McCormick of Georgia; Don Bacon of Nebraska; Mike Lawler and Nicole Malliotakis of New York; Mike Turner and Mike Carey of Ohio; and Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania. California independent Rep. Kevin Kiley, who recently left the Republican Party, also voted for the bill.

Supporters argued that [Haitian TPS holders contribute nearly $6 billion to the U.S. economy annually and fill essential healthcare positions](https://www.wearecusp.org) facing critical labor shortages. Bacon said removing TPS would "cost 350,000 healthcare workers their ability to work at a time when we're already facing serious workforce shortages."

The bill now faces an uncertain path in the GOP-led Senate, where it would almost certainly be vetoed by Trump. A federal judge in February blocked the termination of TPS for Haiti, which [was originally scheduled to end February 3, 2026](https://www.uscis.gov), and that ruling remains in effect pending the Supreme Court's decision.

Haiti held TPS designation since 2010 following a devastating earthquake. Multiple administrations have extended the protections as conditions in the country remained unstable amid gang violence and political unrest.

## Sources

- [Kentucky Lantern](https://kentuckylantern.com/2026/04/16/repub/with-gop-defections-us-house-passes-bill-extending-legal-status-for-350000-haitians/)
- [U.S. Supreme Court](https://www.supremecourt.gov)
- [Communities United for Status and Protection on economic impact of Haitian TPS](https://www.wearecusp.org)
- [USCIS Temporary Protected Status information](https://www.uscis.gov)

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This article was generated by AI (claude-haiku-4-5-20251001) based on source material from Kentucky Lantern, enriched with 2 web searches. The original source is available at https://kentuckylantern.com/2026/04/16/repub/with-gop-defections-us-house-passes-bill-extending-legal-status-for-350000-haitians/.