Secretary Mayorkas Extends and Redesignates Temporary Protected Status for Haiti for 18 Months.

 

Secretary Mayorkas Extends and Redesignates Temporary Protected Status for Haiti for 18 Months 12/05/2022 U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY Office of Public Affairs Secretary Mayorkas Extends and Redesignates Temporary Protected Status for Haiti for 18 Months Redesignation Allows Newly Eligible Haitian Nationals to Apply for TPS and Employment Authorization Documentation WASHINGTON – Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas today announced the extension of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haiti for an additional 18 months, from February 4, 2023, through August 3, 2024, due to extraordinary and temporary conditions in Haiti. He also redesignated Haiti for TPS, allowing Haitian nationals residing in the United States as of November 6, 2022, to apply for TPS through August 3, 2024, so long as they meet all eligibility requirements. It is important to note that Haitians entering the United States after November 6, 2022, are not eligible for TPS and, like other individuals without a legal basis to remain in the United States, will be subject to removal. To repeat: Haitians entering the United States after November 6, 2022, including those who might be considering entering now, are not eligible for TPS. “We are providing much-needed humanitarian relief to Haitian nationals already present in the United States,” said Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas. “The conditions in Haiti, including socioeconomic challenges, political instability, and gang violence and crime – aggravated by environmental disaster – compelled the humanitarian relief we are providing today.” Secretary Mayorkas extended and redesignated Haiti for TPS after consultation with interagency partners and careful consideration of the extraordinary and temporary conditions in Haiti, including a prolonged political crisis; grave insecurity and gang crime that worsened a dire economic situation; a lack of access to food, water, fuel and health care during a resurgence of cholera; and the recent catastrophic earthquakes. It is, as indicated above, important to note that TPS will apply only to those individuals who already have been residing in the United States as of November 6, 2022, and who meet all other requirements. Those who attempt to travel to the United States after this announcement will not be eligible for TPS and, if they enter irregularly or without legal authorization, will be subject to repatriation. A soon-to-be-published Federal Register notice will explain the eligibility criteria, timelines, and procedures necessary for current beneficiaries to re-register and renew Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) and for new applicants to submit an initial application under the redesignation and apply for an EAD. # # #   ICYMI: Secretary Mayorkas Remarks: The Convergence of National Security and Homeland Security 12/05/2022 U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY Office of Public Affairs ICYMI: Secretary Mayorkas Remarks: The Convergence of National Security and Homeland Security WASHINGTON- Today, Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas delivered keynote remarks and participated in fireside chat at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) on the convergence of “national security” and “homeland security,” as well as the critical role played by DHS in protecting Americans and U.S. national security interests. Secretary Mayorkas highlighted some of the major threats facing the Homeland, both foreign and domestic, as well as key steps the Department is taking to address them. These topics included, but were not limited to Cybersecurity, Immigration, Counterterrorism and Domestic Violent Extremism. Below are excerpts: “We face a new kind of warfare, no longer constrained by borders or military maneuvers.  In fact, we face a very different world than the one our then-new Department of Homeland Security entered in 2003, nearly 20 years ago." “The world today is more interconnected than at any time in DHS’s 20-year history.  Ubiquitous cutting-edge technologies, economic and political instability, and our globalized economy have erased borders and increasingly bring threats and challenges directly into our communities—to our schools, hospitals, small businesses, local governments, and critical infrastructure.  Our homeland security has converged with our broader national security." “Those who wish to harm us exploit the openness that defines our modern world.  They do so through trade and investment flows, through the rapidly evolving technologies that connect us, and through information spread around the world by the click of a mouse.  “Homeland Security” as we thought of it in the wake of 9/11 – safeguarding the United States against foreign terrorism – today has new meaning." […] “President Biden’s National Security Strategy details the twin national security challenges of our time: countering shared transnational challenges and outcompeting our rivals to shape the international order.  As the threats have evolved, the historical distinction between homeland security and national security challenges has blurred and the role of DHS has grown accordingly." “Meeting these challenges requires the skills and capabilities that are core competencies at DHS: robust collaboration with the private sector, academia, and all levels of government to identify solutions to threats as soon as they emerge; strong relationships with law enforcement, emergency responders, and critical infrastructure owners that allow us to quickly deliver preparedness tools; and the authority to enforce our laws at home and around the world.  It depends on expertise in areas where DHS is playing a critical role for our federal government: counterterrorism, cybersecurity, climate resilience, combatting transnational criminal organizations, pandemic response, and competition with nation states like China and Russia."   “This is in addition to our important work to enforce our immigration laws, secure our borders, counter drug trafficking, and build safe, orderly, and humane immigration processes.  And, we are doing so, operating within a system that everyone agrees is broken and that Congress must address now, at a time when we are seeing historic migration throughout the hemisphere and around the world." “DHS is using our skills and expertise to meet the challenges of today’s world and prepare for the threats of tomorrow. We are more fit for purpose than at any point in our 20-year history." […] “We do not do this alone.  As I have said many times, DHS is fundamentally a department of partnerships.  Addressing the threats of today and tomorrow requires all of us working together across federal, state, and local governments, the private sector, nonprofits, academia, and indeed, the involvement of every individual.  The need for DHS’s capabilities and tools will only continue to grow as we confront the threats of tomorrow." “Today our homeland security and national security are inextricably linked.  We may not have envisioned the complexity and dynamism of today’s threat environment when the Department was established 20 years ago, but it is clear we have never been more fit for the mission before us.” Read the full transcript of Secretary Mayorkas’s speech.