Ohio governor, New York lawmaker also urge TPS extension

Giménez, whose family fled Cuba when he was seven, represents parts of Miami-Dade County, home to about 110,000 residents of Haitian ancestry. He made the comments during an appearance on CBS News, saying Temporary Protected Status “is meant to safeguard those who are either fleeing countries that are failed states and are at risk of going back to them or countries that really can’t handle them right now.”

He also called on the administration to reinstate TPS for Venezuelans after the twin earthquakes that struck north-central Venezuela on June 24.

The Supreme Court’s June ruling gave the Department of Homeland Security authority to phase out the protections for Haitians and Syrians. A DHS guidance issued last week said TPS Haiti beneficiaries would keep their status and employment authorization “until the lower courts align with the US Supreme Court’s favorable decision.”

DeWine, whose state includes the town of Springfield — where then-candidate Donald Trump and Sen. JD Vance spread false claims about Haitian immigrants during the 2024 campaign — told CNN that ending TPS for Haitians “is not in the United States’s interest, certainly not in Ohio’s interest.”

“Look at how it’s going to impact states like Ohio. In Ohio, the Haitians are working primarily in manufacturing, they’re also working in the food area,” DeWine said. “It’s Haitians who, many times, are taking care of your mom or your dad who has Alzheimer’s, taking care of family members who might be in a nursing home. And to say we’re going to pull all those people out, it’s just not in our own self-interest.”

Lawler, a Republican who represents a swing district in New York, warned that “immediately shutting off TPS” would “create a crisis” in hospitals, nursing homes and within the disabilities community.

Giménez previously backed legislation requiring the secretary of homeland security to designate Haiti for TPS until 2029. “Haiti today is overrun by violent gangs,” he said in a statement in April. “It is neither safe nor humane to force our neighbors back into those conditions.”

That bill, HR 1689, passed the House 224–204 with support from South Florida Republicans María Elvira Salazar, Mario Díaz-Balart and Giménez, along with Democrats. It is currently awaiting consideration in the Senate.