By The U.S. House of Representatives advanced the bill that would extend temporary protected status (TPS) for Haiti through 2029 in April, and the measure has stalled in the Senate.
The Florida Conference of Catholic Bishops sent a letter to Florida lawmakers urging them to support legislation that would extend temporary protected status (TPS) for Haitian nationals living in the United States through 2029.
Eight Florida bishops, representing all six dioceses in the state, signed the Aug. 5 letter. They “urgently” asked Sen. Rick Scott, R-Florida, and Sen. Ashley Moody, R-Florida, “to bring about the passage of S. 4814.”
The legislation will “offer certainty to our Haitian brothers and sisters in the short-term, while also working toward broader legislative reforms that include opportunities for long-time residents of our communities to regularize their status,” they wrote.
The U.S. House of Representatives advanced the bill that would extend TPS for Haiti through 2029 in April, and the measure has stalled in the Senate.
The bishops further expressed “deep pastoral concern in response to the current state of our immigration system and the human realities involved.”
“The situation is especially daunting for hundreds of thousands of Haitians, Venezuelans, and others who have been relying on temporary protected status (TPS) to live and work lawfully in the United States,” they said.
“So many of these families are left without any legal status or a way to support themselves, all while returning to their country of origin remains unsafe, impractical, and unreasonable because of the ongoing conditions there.”
The letter follows Miami Archbishop Thomas Wenski’s previous call for “compassionate” immigration protections for Haitians with TPS upon expiration of their automatic work‑permit extension on July 27.
Following the expiration, Wenski traveled to Washington, D.C., to meet with lawmakers and advocated on behalf of the estimated 353,000 Haitian nationals who hold TPS status in the U.S.
Additional call for broader immigration reform
The bishops also called for broader immigration reform, citing Pope Leo XIV’s message on the 250th anniversary of the nation’s founding.
The Holy Father said “those who have arrived seeking freedom, opportunity, and a place to belong have helped to shape the nation’s character.” He added: “To receive them into the nation with compassion and generosity is not only an act of charity but also a recognition of the dignity that belongs to every human person.”
“We do not ask you to commit yourselves to immigration reform as a rejection of the national interest but as a means of promoting it,” the bishops said.
“Beyond even the positive economic and social contributions made by immigrants, including those in our own state of Florida, the considerations warranting meaningful improvements to our immigration system are profoundly moral in nature,” they wrote.
“The Catholic Church remains committed to working with you and your colleagues in Congress to bring about bipartisan reforms of our immigration system. Please be assured of our prayers for you and your service to our nation in this 250th year of its independence,” they concluded.
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Florida bishops need to stay out of politics. If bishops want to use their ecclesial office to be politically involved, they should ask the Pope to laicize them and then they should run for pokitical office. Christ did not surround himself with 12 apostles to engage civil leaders politically.
True. Problem is that if they ran for office they would run as socialists.
The CC bishops continue to endanger us, our families and our children with their stance on immigration:
—Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier says the horrific murder of a woman who was bludgeoned to death at a Fort Myers gas station on April 3 was totally preventable, pointing to the fact that the suspect is a Haitian national in the U.S. illegally who benefited from former President Joe Biden’s open border policies.
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2026/04/08/florida-attorney-general-james-uthmeier-another-horrific-illegal-alien-murder-this-was-preventable/
—Trump Administration Cracks Down on Haitian National Who Made $58 million in 340B Drug Clinic Fraud; Faces Years in Prison and Deportation
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2026/06/16/trump-administration-cracks-down-on-haitian-national-who-made-58-million-in-340b-drug-clinic-fraud-faces-years-in-prison-and-deportation/
See book Haitians of Springfield: An Oral History by Joshua Lisec:
https://www.amazon.com/Haitians-Springfield-When-Culture-Another/dp/1510788840
—The Haitians are getting goodies from food banks and churches and then selling them. Opening businesses without licenses. Selling liquor and hooka paraphernalia. They do not obey traffic stops or signals. Stop signs, yield signs, lights mean nothing to them. If a car in front of them stops for a stop sign, they will just drive around or bump the car or drive through a yard and get ahead.
—They just do what they want in Springfield and the local police have been instructed not to issue citations and enforce the law on the Haitians.
—They are married and apply as single to get single parent benefits. Springfield is Haitians first despite being run by Republicans. They are celebrating, getting married, getting rooted.
—They load up their carts at stores, while local veterans and working class people barely have enough for them and their families.
—The Haitians are levering birth right citizenship to have as many children as possible even among Haitian women in their forties.
— They are being helped by Christian and other religious foundations plus NGO’s created to serve the people of Haiti over the people of Springfield.
—Local police have been going around telling businesses not to cooperate with ICF. The city of Springfield functions as a sanctuary city that is replacing the local Christian population with the Haitians.
—The GOP governor of Ohio, DeWine even has charitable foundations in Haiti. His policies have filtered down not only to Springfield but other cities of Ohio.
—EBT cards for food (SNAP benefits) are available to eligible Haitian immigrants, including those with TPS or humanitarian parole, provided they meet income and household size requirements. In Ohio, a family of four with a gross monthly income under $3,380 may receive up to $975 per month in SNAP benefits via an EBT card.
—Car vouchers: cash assistance programs like Ohio Works First (for families with children) or Refugees Cash Assistance (for immigrants without children) provide monthly cash payments that recipients may use for necessities, including transportation costs such as car payments or gas.
—For the U.S. bishops and those of their ilk, it seems, we do not have enough bad people in this country, so we need to import more from among those who violate our laws to enter our country, instead of going to an American consulate and applying for a vis, or in cases of true political persecution, asking for asylum at said consulate or embassy. This is of course the legal and indeed moral way. See more horrors below, abetted by the U.S. bishops and all those who adopt their stance:
—Abolish IIM! (Illegal Immigrations) What I list in CWR is thee tip of the iceberg; CWR posting gives only so much space; this would take pages and pages; see more::
—ICE arrests dozens of criminal illegal aliens convicted of murder, child rape and more in sanctuary state Minnesota
https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/ice-arrests-dozens-criminal-illegal-aliens-convicted-murder-child-rape-and-more
— Abolish IIM! (Illegal Immigration). The U.S. bishops and the lay people who think like them are endangering us, our families and our children (the opposite of what Border Patrol, ICE, DHS, police, etc. do, namely protect us often at the risk of their lives—how many times have these bishops risked their live protecting others?).
Wenski needs to get on his Harley and take a long ride.
What absolute embarrassments.
To be fair DR, in this case it could be a matter of life and death for the Florida bishops’ parishioners.
I hear you about politics, but this is a human life issue. We don’t expect our bishops to remain silent on feticide or euthanasia. The question about sending Haitians back to death and destruction isn’t about legality. It’s about conscience.
Just what we need: eternal temporary asylum. Whatever their motivation, the bishops must know they’re just buying time until a President more to their liking gives the objects of their compassion permanent status.
Sorry, Florida bishops. We have a governor and a legislature that is actually committed to protecting the rights and property of taxpaying, law-abiding citizens over illegals. That’s a good thing, and that’s something you should be committed to as well. As usual, you’re on the wrong side of the issue.