“We were thinking, ‘What else can we do? What additional pressure can we apply?’ And that was the genesis of this letter,” Louijeune said in an interview.
In April, the House passed bipartisan legislation to extend TPS for Haitians in a move led by Representative Ayanna Pressley. Pressley used a procedural measure called a discharge petition to circumvent House Republican leadership and force a floor vote: Over two months, she amassed 218 signatures during House sessions, meeting the amount required for the bill to be considered by the House and ultimately voted on.
“We can talk about likelihood of success [of the letter], but nobody thought that we could build a coalition to pass the discharge petition. That’s why it was historic,” Louijeune said. “So, we just have to do and try everything we can to protect our workforce, to protect our residents and their families.”
Louijeune said she would call senators and urge them to pass legislation introduced by Mass. Senator Ed Markey in June that would extend TPS designation for Haiti through 2029.
The letter comes one week after TPS for Haitian and Syrian nationals was officially terminated following the US Supreme Court’s in Mullin v. Doe decision.
Several media outlets have reported that in Ohio, Haitian immigrants with TPS status were summoned by the Department of Homeland Security for in-person check-in appointments, where they were outfitted with ankle monitors.
When asked if she believed the letter would have a concrete effect or if it was a symbolic gesture, Louijeune said, “I don’t do anything for the purpose of symbolism.”
“As a daughter of Haitian immigrants, as a person who wakes up to calls every single day about TPS, about losing jobs, about ankle monitors being placed on Haitians across the country, nothing that I do is symbolic,” she said. “It is just one of the levers that we can pull.”
The decision in Mullin v. Doe was made on the basis that Haiti no longer met the criteria for TPS designation. A nationality can be designated for TPS if the conditions in a country would prevent nationals from returning safely or when their home government could not handle their return.
Signatories wrote that the decision “flies in the face of the federal government’s own understanding of the conditions on the ground in Haiti.” The letter cited concerns about violent crime, gang activity, and kidnapping risks.
There are 22,575 Haitian TPS holders in Massachusetts, according to a recent estimate by the University of Massachusetts Boston. Overall, there are close to 37,000 TPS holders in Massachusetts, according to the estimate; almost a quarter are made up of migrants from El Salvador, Sudan, and Ukraine.
Massachusetts had the third-highest population of Haitian nationals of any state in 2024 with an estimated 76,659 residing here, according to the World Population Review.
In a press release about the letter, Wu said Congress has the opportunity to step in and protect families while preventing a blow to Boston’s economy.
“Thousands of Haitians have lived and worked lawfully in Boston and are part of the fabric of our city,” Wu said. The mayor’s office declined an interview request with Wu on Tuesday.
Multiple news outlets have reported that US Immigration and Customs Enforcement is prepared to ramp up efforts to detain and deport the 350,000 Haitians nationwide losing TPS, including those who have lived legally in the United States for decades.
Haitian TPS holders contribute an estimated $418 million annually to the city of Boston’s economy, with many holding crucial jobs in healthcare, transportation, hospitality, and construction, according to policy organization FWD.us. Local employers have expressed concerns about the impact of Haitians leaving the workforce in those industries.
El Salvador, Lebanon, Sudan, and Ukraine are still actively designated for TPS, though these designations are set to expire within the next three months.
Chloe Craft can be reached at chloe.craft@globe.com.
