Florida Republican warns deporting Haitians with TPS would be 'huge mistake'

Several Republicans have pushed back against the Trump administration's efforts to strip legal protections from Haitian migrants, even after the U.S. Supreme Court cleared the way for the move. The most prominent voice came from Rep. Carlos Gimenez, a Florida Republican whose Miami-Dade district is home to about 110,000 residents of Haitian descent. In an interview with CBS News, he said sending those people back would be a 'huge mistake.'

'Haiti is a failed state, and I think deporting Haitians who are currently under TPS back to Haiti would be a huge mistake,' Gimenez said. The congressman, who came to the U.S. from Cuba at age 7, noted that Temporary Protected Status was designed for situations like Haiti's, as well as Venezuela's, where two strong earthquakes struck the north-central part of the country on June 24. He also called for restoring TPS for Venezuelans.

According to Gimenez, TPS 'is designed to protect those who are either leaving countries that are failed states and risk going back there, or countries that currently cannot handle them, as in the case of Venezuela, which suffered a natural disaster.'

The Supreme Court's ruling opened the door for the administration to end protections covering more than 350,000 Haitians and about 6,000 Syrians. Despite that, the Department of Homeland Security last week issued guidance stating that Haitians with TPS would retain their status and work authorization 'until the lower courts conform their decisions to the favorable ruling of the U.S. Supreme Court.'

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, a Republican, also urged the White House last week to change course. His state's city of Springfield is home to a significant Haitian community — the same city that Donald Trump and JD Vance targeted with false claims during the 2024 campaign. DeWine told CNN that Haitian workers are so embedded in Ohio's economy that replacing them would be difficult. 'Look at how this will affect states like Ohio. In Ohio, Haitians work primarily in manufacturing and also in food service,' he said. 'These are Haitians who often care for your mom or dad with Alzheimer's, care for family members in nursing homes. And to say we're going to pull all these people out — it's just not in our interest.'

Citing State Department travel warnings, DeWine said Haiti is 'clearly' unsafe and argued that ending TPS 'is not in the interest of the United States and certainly not in the interest of Ohio — to have people who work every day, support families, buy homes, fix up old homes, start businesses, put down deep roots in this country and really contribute — and then yank them out.'

New York Republican Rep. Mike Lawler, who represents a competitive swing district ahead of the midterm elections, also opposed ending TPS for Haitians. Lawler noted that a third of Haitian TPS holders work in health care and warned that 'immediate termination of TPS' would create a 'crisis' in hospitals, nursing homes, and disability services.

Gimenez's opposition is not new. In April, he issued a statement saying, 'Haiti today is overrun with violent gangs. It is unsafe and inhumane to force our neighbors to return to such conditions.' He supported HR 1689, a bill that would require the homeland security secretary to maintain TPS for Haiti until 2029, calling the measure 'not just sound policy — it's the right thing to do, and I'm proud to vote for this sensible, bipartisan solution that ensures our Haitian neighbors can continue to contribute to our community.'

The bill passed the House 224-204, with support from a bloc of South Florida Republicans — Gimenez, Maria Elvira Salazar, and Mario Diaz-Balart, all of Miami — as well as Florida Democrats. It is now pending in the Senate.