Ten House Republicans and one independent voted with Democrats on Thursday to allow more than 350,000 Haitian immigrants to stay in the United States for another three years.
In a 224-204 vote, the House passed a bill that would require the homeland security secretary to designate Haiti for Temporary Protected Status.
Haitians have had the designation in the United States since 2010, but the Trump administration has tried to terminate TPS, only to be blocked by federal courts.
The result of today’s vote was made possible by Republicans who broke with GOP leadership and voted “yes” on the measure.
“Who needs Democrats whenever you have a Republican tool vote for amnesty?” Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, told The Daily Signal just after the vote.
“The House just voted to codify, effectively, President [Joe] Biden’s open-border policies for the Haitians,” he continued.
On Wednesday, six Republicans voted with Democrats to bring the measure to the floor. Even with pushback from the House Freedom Caucus, four more joined in breaking rank.
The six Republicans who voted to bring the bill to the floor included Reps. María Elvira Salazar and Carlos Giménez of Florida, Reps. Mike Lawler and Nicole Malliotakis of New York, Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska, and Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania.
On Thursday, Republican Reps. Mike Turner and Mike Carey of Ohio, Rich McCormick of Georgia, and Mario Díaz-Balart of Florida joined them, along with independent Rep. Kevin Kiley of California. When votes were finalized, cheers could be heard outside the House chamber.
“Voters elected us to help the president mass-deport illegal aliens who are in our country,” Gill continued, noting that the president specifically called out the Haitian immigrant community as needing reform during the 2024 election.
“You don’t turn around and give those very same people we were voted to deport amnesty,” Gill said. “It’s just a great way to just piss in the face of our voters who elected us to actually keep our community safe and secure.”
Gill noted that 91% of Haitians protected under TPS originally came into the United States illegally, and 69% came during the Biden administration.
“It’s unacceptable to see some Republicans breaking ranks to advance this Democrat-led bill, betraying the mandate voters gave them and delivering de facto amnesty,” a Heritage Action spokesperson told The Daily Signal.
“Heritage Action will not support amnesty—no exceptions,” the spokesperson continued.
“That is what this bill is,” Gill told The Daily Signal. “It is de facto amnesty for people who came into the country illegally.”
