Efforts in the House of Representatives to extend Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haiti came closer to reality on April 15, 2026, when the chamber voted to proceed with a vote, expected April 17, on a motion to discharge HR 1689 from the House Committee on the Judiciary where the bill has been stuck since it was introduced on February 27, 2025.
If the House votes to discharge the bill, which appears likely after the 219–209 procedural vote on April 15, then any representative who signed the discharge petition may immediately move to proceed to the consideration of the bill itself.
LeadingAge has advocated strongly for HR 1689.
Last year, the Trump administration moved to terminate Haiti’s TPS designation. That action is currently the subject of litigation: it has been temporarily blocked by a federal district court and is awaiting a hearing before the Supreme Court later in April.
As LeadingAge has long maintained, many Haitian TPS holders are valued employees in nursing homes, assisted living communities, and home‑ and community‑based services. Threatened disruptions to their work authorization directly affect staffing stability, continuity of care and access to care.
The discharge petition, H. Res. 965, was introduced by Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) and was ultimately signed by the majority (218) of House members necessary to move it and, if successful, HR 1689 to the full House for votes.
“Secretary Kennedy of the Department of Health and Human Services said something families across the country already know too well: that America is facing a caregiver crisis. But Mr. Speaker, if we were to deport Haitians, we would lose even more nurses, aides and caregivers that we desperately need. Those jobs can’t be replaced by AI. So the solution is clear. I urge my colleagues to vote yes to extend TPS because it’s the economic thing to do, it’s the strategic thing to do, it’s the humane thing to do. But most of all, it is the right thing to do,” Rep. Pressley said in support of the April 15 procedural vote on the House floor.