In a significant humanitarian appeal, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has called upon the Trump administration to reverse its decision to terminate Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for approximately 300,000 Haitian immigrants facing imminent legal limbo. With the February 3rd, 2026 deadline approaching, Bishop A. Elias Zaidan, Chairman of the Conference’s Committee on International Justice and Peace, emphasized the critical nature of the situation in a January 29th statement.
The religious leaders highlighted the severe security conditions in Haiti that make repatriation impossible, citing the U.S. State Department’s Level 4 travel advisory warning of ‘life-threatening risks’ including widespread kidnapping, civil unrest, and terrorist activities. Adding to these concerns, the Federal Aviation Administration has implemented a complete flight ban from all U.S. cities to Port-au-Prince, effectively eliminating safe return corridors.
While acknowledging that TPS was designed as temporary relief, the bishops emphasized that current circumstances demand executive action. They noted that despite previous calls for congressional legislation to create pathways to permanent status for long-term TPS holders, no such legislative solution has materialized, leaving the administration with both the authority and moral responsibility to act.
The statement concluded with a powerful invocation of solidarity with the Haitian community worldwide and a prayer to Our Lady of Perpetual Help, patroness of Haiti, seeking divine intervention for a population facing unprecedented uncertainty and danger.