To require the Secretary of Homeland Security to designate Haiti for temporary protected status.

The shortest useful version

Requires the Secretary of Homeland Security to designate Haiti for Temporary Protected Status until approximately April 20, 2029, overriding the Trump administration's termination of that status by legislative mandate.

About 500,000 Haitians in the U.S. face deportation after the Supreme Court cleared the administration's TPS termination effective August 7, 2026; this bill would restore their legal status and work authorization by act of Congress, but faces a presidential veto threat.

Bill text

Stated in the legislative text we analyzed. We cite where.

Official record

A procedural fact from the official legislative record — introduced, reported, passed, referred, and when.

Documented evidence

Credible reported data, historical evidence, or expert analysis.

Stakeholder claim

What a named supporter, opponent, sponsor, or industry says. Their position, not a finding.

LegisPlain analysis

Our own inference or synthesis — not a fact from a source.

What it does

• Mandates — using the word 'shall' — that the Secretary of Homeland Security designate Haiti for Temporary Protected Status, removing the Secretary's normal statutory discretion over such designations.[1]

  Bill textSec. 1

• Sets a fixed end date for the designation: the date that is 3 months after January 20, 2029 — approximately April 20, 2029.[1]

  Bill textSec. 1

• Uses a 'Notwithstanding any other provision of law' clause, which as a matter of statutory construction overrides the Secretary's existing discretionary TPS authority under 8 U.S.C. § 1254a and any other conflicting federal statute or court order.[1]

  Bill textSec. 1

• The bill is a single operative sentence with no definitions, no findings, no appropriations, no additional eligibility conditions, and no enforcement mechanism. Individual applicants would still need to satisfy existing TPS eligibility requirements under 8 U.S.C. § 1254a.[1]

  LegisPlain analysis

Why now

• The Trump administration ended Haiti's TPS designation in November 2025; the Supreme Court in 2026 cleared the administration to proceed with termination effective August 7, 2026, making legislative intervention the remaining avenue for the approximately 500,000 affected Haitians.[5][6]

  Documented evidence

• Haiti's humanitarian conditions remain severe: armed gangs control approximately 90% of Port-au-Prince and all main access routes, over 1.4 million civilians have been internally displaced, and gang violence resulted in more than 5,600 killings in a recent year.[7][8]

  Documented evidence

• House Democrats used a discharge petition — a procedurally rare maneuver — to force the bill to the floor over the objections of the Speaker and GOP leadership, reflecting the urgency proponents attached to passing the bill before TPS termination took full effect.[4]

  Documented evidence

Who benefits

• Approximately 500,000 Haitian nationals in the United States under or formerly under TPS would receive renewed protection from deportation and authorization to work legally through approximately April 2029.[5][9]

  Documented evidence

• Rep. Laura Gillen (D-NY-4), bill sponsor: Employers in healthcare, education, and caregiving — industries Rep. Gillen cited as heavily reliant on Haitian TPS holders — would retain that portion of their workforce.[4]

  Stakeholder claimconfidence: medium

Who carries the cost or burden

• USCIS would bear administrative processing costs for TPS registrations and renewals. The bill appropriates no funds, leaving implementation dependent on existing agency appropriations and TPS filing fees.[1]

  LegisPlain analysisconfidence: mediumNo CBO score has been published; costs are inferred from the absence of any appropriations in the bill text.

• Trump Administration / White House: The Trump administration argues the bill would extend protections to individuals it characterizes as having entered unlawfully and would constrain executive immigration enforcement authority.[9]

  Stakeholder claim

What's buried in the bill

• Not in headlineExpiration date is tethered to the presidential transition — TPS ends 3 months after Inauguration Day 2029Sec. 1

  The bill's title simply says 'designate Haiti for TPS,' but the operative text sets expiration at '3 months after January 20, 2029.' January 20, 2029 is the date of the next presidential inauguration. This means TPS automatically lapses shortly after a new administration takes office in 2029, giving that president discretion to renew or allow expiration. This is a structural policy choice embedded in the text that does not appear in the title or most media coverage.

  Sources for this finding:[1]
• Not in headline'Notwithstanding any other provision of law' clause overrides existing executive TPS discretion and could moot pending court proceedingsSec. 1

  The bill uses a 'notwithstanding' clause that by its plain terms overrides any conflicting federal law, including 8 U.S.C. § 1254a's normal discretionary TPS framework. If enacted while Haiti TPS termination litigation remains pending in the courts, the clause could effectively moot that litigation by replacing the underlying statutory framework. The headline does not indicate that the bill is displacing existing statutory frameworks or potentially affecting active judicial proceedings.

  Sources for this finding:[1]

Constitutional and legal questions

Implementation and enforcement

• Upon enactment, the Secretary of Homeland Security would be legally obligated to publish a Federal Register notice designating Haiti for TPS and open a registration period for eligible applicants under existing 8 U.S.C. § 1254a procedures.[1]

  LegisPlain analysis

• The bill includes no internal enforcement mechanism if DHS fails or refuses to comply; enforcement would depend on litigation by affected individuals or advocacy organizations seeking judicial compulsion.[1]

  LegisPlain analysisconfidence: mediumNo court has directly addressed a congressional mandate to issue a TPS designation; the enforcement path if the executive resists is untested.

Cost and funding

• The bill contains no appropriations, no authorization of new funds, and no fee schedule. No CBO score has been published. USCIS TPS processing is funded through a combination of application filing fees and appropriated funds under existing law.[1]

  Bill textSec. 1Total fiscal impact depends on the number of eligible applicants who register; the bill text provides no funding mechanism.

What supporters say

• ACLU — Naureen Shah, Director of Policy and Government Affairs: 'Today's bipartisan passage is a major win for immigrants' rights and is a clear signal that members of Congress are breaking from the status quo to reject the Trump administration's unlawful and dangerous agenda.'[3]

  Stakeholder claim

• Rep. Laura Gillen (D-NY-4), bill sponsor: Returning Haitian TPS holders would be 'a humanitarian catastrophe' because 'armed gangs control 90% of the capital, and more than 1.4 million innocent civilians, half of them children, have been forced from their homes'; TPS holders 'work in critical sectors like health care, education and caregiving, supporting our elderly and local hospitals.'[4]

  Stakeholder claim

What opponents say

• Trump Administration / White House: The administration issued a formal Statement of Administration Policy opposing H.R. 1689 and threatened a presidential veto, characterizing the bill as incompatible with the administration's immigration enforcement priorities.[9]

  Stakeholder claim

• Rep. Brandon Gill (R-TX): 'No serious country tolerates virtually unlimited numbers of foreigners breaking and entering, and yet that's what this bill does!' — arguing that the bill rewards unlawful entry and extends protections to individuals who arrived illegally.[9]

  Stakeholder claim

Current status

• H.R. 1689 passed the House on April 16, 2026 by a vote of 224–204 — 11 Republicans joining 213 Democrats — after a successful bipartisan discharge petition bypassed Republican leadership. It was received by the Senate on April 17, 2026 and placed on the Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders as Calendar No. 374 on April 21, 2026. It has not been scheduled for a Senate floor vote.[2][4]

  Official record

• The Trump administration issued a formal Statement of Administration Policy opposing the bill and threatening a presidential veto, making Senate passage and a two-thirds veto override the remaining legislative obstacles; the House passed the bill with 224 votes, well below the 290 needed to override.[9]

  Documented evidence

What to watch

• Whether Senate leadership schedules a floor vote and whether 60 votes are obtainable to overcome a potential filibuster; the House margin of 224–204 suggests a veto override is unlikely without a dramatic shift in Republican support.

  LegisPlain analysis

• The TPS termination took effect August 7, 2026; each day the bill remains pending, affected Haitians accumulate legal exposure without valid TPS status — compressing the practical window for legislative relief.[6]

  Documented evidence

• Whether, if the bill becomes law, the administration declines to comply with the mandatory designation, triggering litigation over whether Congress can compel a specific executive TPS action — a question the courts have not squarely resolved.[6]

  LegisPlain analysisconfidence: medium