State Senator Kevin Parker Advocates for Haitian TPS Status Extension

BROOKLYN, NY (11/13/17) – On Friday, November 9^th State Senator Kevin Parker wrote to Acting U.S Department of Homeland Security Secretary Elaine Duke urging her to use the power granted to her through the U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act to extend the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) of Haitian nationals for an indefinite term.  

"As a country, the United States has long championed TPS - including an extension to immigrants of South Sudan in September, and more recently, an extension this month to Honduran immigrants,” said Senator Parker.  The Albany lawmaker continued, “I urge the Department of Homeland Security to take the necessary actions that would allow our Haitian brothers and sisters who have experienced hardship due to natural disasters dating back to the 2010 earthquake the additional time here in the U.S. to overcome the continued issues that plague their return home.”

There are more than 200,000 residents of Haitian descent currently in the borough of Brooklyn, and a large majority currently live in the 21^st Senatorial District of New York State, which Senator Parker represents. Nearly 60,000 Haitian immigrants are at risk of being removed from the U.S. once their TPS status ends on January 22, 2018. 

The Senator concluded, “The notion of returning almost 60,000 Haitians back to the current conditions they were forced to flee is unconscionable and an implicit disregard to their human rights. American values stand to be tested by the actions or inactions of our federal government to protect the rights of Americans and those abroad.”

About State Senator Kevin Parker

Senator Kevin S. Parker is intimately familiar with the needs of his ethnically diverse Brooklyn district comprised of sections of Flatbush, East Flatbush, Midwood, Ditmas Park, Kensington, Windsor Terrace, and Park Slope.  A lifelong Brooklyn resident, he is the Ranking Democratic Member on the Senate Committee on Energy and Telecommunications, as well as the Committee on Alcoholism and Substance Abuse.

Senator Parker is the Whip of the Senate Democratic Conference; Member of the Senate Democratic Conference Policy Group; Member of the Senate Select Committee on Technology & Innovation; and Member of the Senate Democratic Minority and Women-Owned Business Task Force (MWBE).

For the 2017-2018 Legislative Session, Senator Parker serves on the Senate Standing Committees on Finance; Rules; Higher education; Labor; Insurance, and Banks.

For more information on Senator Parker, please visit www.nysenate.gov/senators/kevin-s-parker