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Boston: Local Leaders Urge Congress To Extend Temporary Protection Status For Haiti

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Mayor Michelle Wu and City Councilor At-Large Ruthzee Louijeune submitted a letter to the U.S. Senate urging them to immediately pass S. 4814, a bill sponsored by Senator Ed Markey, co-sponsored by Senator Elizabeth Warren and 29 additional U.S. Senators, that would extend TPS for Haiti through early 2029. The Republican-controlled House passed an analogous bill, H.R. 1689, in April. The letter warns that Congressional action is now necessary to restore legal status and work authorization to more than 350,000 Haitian TPS holders, following the Supreme Court's decision in Mullin v. Doe and one of the largest de-legalization events in U.S. history.

"Congress has the power to protect our communities and prevent this devastation for our families and economy by extending TPS," said Mayor Michelle Wu. "Thousands of Haitians have lived and worked lawfully in Boston and are part of the fabric of our city. Together with Councilor Ruthzee Louijeune and mayors from across the country, we are calling on Congress to act now."

"Unless Congress acts now, the Trump Administration will soon begin to enforce one of the largest de-legalization events in U.S. history, hurting our economy and putting families at risk of deportation and physical violence," said Boston City Councilor At-Large Ruthzee Louijeune. "Local leaders across America know that this unjustified attack on the Haitian community will destabilize our workforce, raise the cost of living, and subject parents and children to the lawless violence of an out-of-control federal government."

The letter notes that the federal government's own assessment is that Haiti's conditions are unsafe, justifying the extension of TPS. The State Department currently maintains a "Do Not Travel" advisory for Haiti, and the FAA has barred U.S. air carriers from flying into Port-au-Prince, citing rampant violence and widespread kidnapping risk. More than 8,100 killings were documented in Haiti between January and November of 2025 alone.

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Communities like Boston will be harmed if TPS's expiration is allowed to continue, putting 350,000 people at risk of immediate removal from the country. Haitian TPS holders contribute between $4.4 billion and $5.9 billion annually to the U.S economy and fill critical roles in the healthcare sector and other essential industries nationwide. Terminating TPS threatens to divide families, disrupt local economies, strain healthcare and education systems, overwhelm public services, and leave local governments to deal with the fallout.

"I am grateful and encouraged by Mayor Wu's letter supporting S. 4814. As she noted, ending TPS would separate families, weaken our economy, strain an already overburdened workforce, and cause deep emotional harm across our communities," said Dr. Geralde Gabeau, Founder and Chief Executive Office of Immigrant Family Services Institute (IFSI). "The impact extends far beyond 350,000 Haitian TPS holders. Congress must act now. We urge our senators to join Mayor Wu, Councilor Louijeune, and the 102 additional signatories to this letter by supporting TPS and passing S. 4814."

The full list of mayors, cities, and counties who joined the letter is below.

Michelle Wu, Mayor of Boston

Ruthzee Louijeune, Boston City Councilor At-Large

Additional Signatories

The City of Albany, New York

The City of Burlington, Vermont

The City of Cambridge, Massachusetts

The Town of Chapel Hill, North Carolina

The City of Chelsea, Massachusetts

The City of Chicago, Illinois

The City of Cincinnati, Ohio

The City and County of Denver, Colorado

The City of Fitchburg, Massachusetts

The Village of Hempstead, New York

The City of Lima, Ohio

The City of New York, New York

The City of Omaha, Nebraska

The City of Portland, Oregon

The County of Santa Clara, California

The City of Seattle, Washington

The City of Somerville, Massachusetts

The City of Spokane, Washington

The City of Worcester, Massachusetts

Mayors

Jim Ross

Mayor, City of Arlington, Texas

Michael Cahill

Mayor, City of Beverly, Massachusetts

Joseph Ganim

Mayor, City of Bridgeport, Connecticut

John Cowen

Mayor, City of Brownsville, Texas

Sumbul Siddiqui

Mayor, City of Cambridge, Massachusetts

Jess Anderson

Mayor and Town Council, Town of Chapel Hill, North Carolina

Brandon Johnson

Mayor, City of Chicago, Illinois

Aftab Pureval

Mayor, City of Cincinnati, Ohio

Justin Bibb

Mayor, City of Cleveland, Ohio

Barbara Buffaloe

Mayor, City of Columbia, Missouri

Andrew Ginther

Mayor, City of Columbus, Ohio

Gay Lynn Bennion

Mayor, City of Cottonwood Heights, Utah

Derrick Henry

Mayor, City of Daytona Beach, Florida

Leonardo Williams

Mayor, City of Durham, North Carolina

Daniel Biss

Mayor, City of Evanston, Illinois

Theresa Rich

Mayor, City of Farmington Hills, Michigan

Christina Muryn

Mayor, City of Findlay, Ohio

Samantha Squailia

Mayor, City of Fitchburg, Massachusetts

Harvey Ward

Mayor, City of Gainesville, Florida

Michael J. Nicholson

Mayor, City of Gardner, Massachusetts

James Solomon

Mayor, Jersey City, New Jersey

Mayor Quinton Lucas

Mayor, City of Kansas City, Missouri

Keith Sydnor

Mayor, City of Laurel, Maryland

Kyle Schlachter

Mayor, City of Littleton, Colorado

Jack Bradley

Mayor, City of Lorain, Ohio

Jared Nicholson

Mayor, City of Lynn, Massachusetts

Gary Christenson

Mayor, City of Malden, Massachusetts

Annette Blackwell

Mayor, City of Maple Heights, Ohio

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Girmay Zahilay

County Executive, Martin Luther King Jr. County, Washington

Breanna Lungo-Koehn

Mayor, City of Medford, Massachusetts

Jennifer Grigoraitis

Mayor, City of Melrose, Massachusetts

D.J. Beauregard

Mayor, City of Methuen, Massachusetts

Eileen Higgins

Mayor, City of Miami, Florida

Jacob Frey

Mayor, City of Minneapolis, Minnesota

Wayne Messam

Mayor, City of Miramar, Florida

Shawyn Patterson-Howard

Mayor, City of Mount Vernon, New York

Phillip Jones

Mayor, City of Newport News, Virginia

Marc Laredo

Mayor, City of Newton, Massachusetts

Angelo Castillo

Mayor, City of Pembroke Pines, Florida

Adrian Mapp

Mayor, City of Plainfield, New Jersey

Keith Wilson

Mayor, City of Portland, Oregon

Brett Smiley

Mayor, City of Providence, Rhode Island

Janet Cowell

Mayor, City of Raleigh, North Carolina

Joseph Begeny

Mayor, City of Reynoldsburg, Ohio

Dominick Pangallo

Mayor, City of Salem, Massachusetts

Todd Gloria

Mayor, City of San Diego, California

Chad Jason Ashmore

Mayor, City of Sesser, Illinois

Jake Wilson

Mayor, City of Somerville, Massachusetts

Domenic J. Sarno

Mayor, City of Springfield, Massachusetts

Regina Romero

Mayor, City of Tucson, Arizona

Anne McEnerny-Ogle

Mayor, City of Vancouver, Washington

William Reichelt

Mayor, Town of West Springfield, Massachusetts

Joseph M. Petty

Mayor, City of Worcester, Massachusetts

Local Government Leaders

Elizabeth Breadon

Boston City Council President, District 9, City of Boston, Massachusetts

Julia Mejia

City Councilor At-Large, City of Boston, Massachusetts

Erin Murphy

City Councilor At-Large, City of Boston, Massachusetts

Henry Santana

City Councilor At-Large, City of Boston, Massachusetts

Gabriela Coletta Zapata

City Councilor, District 1, City of Boston, Massachusetts

Ed Flynn, U.S. Navy (Retired)

City Councilor, District 2, City of Boston, Massachusetts

John FitzGerald

City Councilor, District 3, City of Boston, Massachusetts

Brian Worrell

City Councilor, District 4, City of Boston, Massachusetts

Enrique Pepén

City Councilor, District 5, City of Boston, Massachusetts

Benjamin Weber

City Councilor, District 6, City of Boston, Massachusetts

Miniard Culpepper, Sr., Esq.

City Councilor, District 7, City of Boston, Massachusetts

Sharon Durkan

City Councilor, District 8, City of Boston, Massachusetts

Jeff Charnel

City Councilor, City of Brockton, Massachusetts

Charles Carey

Town Administrator, Town of Brookline, Massachusetts

William Moehle

Supervisor, Town of Brighton, New York

Marc McGovern

Vice Mayor and City Councilor, City of Cambridge, Massachusetts

Megan Bayer

City Solicitor, City of Cambridge, Massachusetts

Catherine Zusy

City Councilor, City of Cambridge, Massachusetts

Zach Klein

City Attorney, City of Columbus, Ohio

Toni Preckwinkle

President of the Board of Commissioners, County of Cook, Illinois

Burhan Azeem

Vice Mayor and City Councilor, City of Cambridge, Massachusetts

Patricia Nolan

City Councilor, City of Cambridge, Massachusetts

Jonathan Nieuwsma

City Councilor, City of Evanston, Illinois

Natasha Megie-Maddrey

City Councilor, Ward 4, City of Lynn, Massachusetts

Sameer Kanal

City Councilor, City of Portland, Oregon

Mitch Green

City Councilor, City of Portland, Oregon

Angelita Morillo

City Councilor, City of Portland, Oregon

Dan Ryan

City Councilor, City of Portland, Oregon

Pat McRae

Supervisor, Charter Township of Redford, Michigan

David Chiu

City Attorney, City and County of San Francisco, California
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