Floor SpeechCeremonial2026-06-30

HAITI TEMPORARY PROTECTED STATUS

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Context

On 2026-06-30, Representative Shontel M. Brown (D-OH-11) delivered a floor speech titled "HAITI TEMPORARY PROTECTED STATUS" in the House.

Full Text

HAITI TEMPORARY PROTECTED STATUS

Congressional Record, Volume 172 Issue 109 (Tuesday, June 30, 2026) [Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 109 (Tuesday, June 30, 2026)] [House] [Page H4330] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] HAITI TEMPORARY PROTECTED STATUS (Ms. Brown of Ohio was recognized to address the House for 5 minutes.) Ms. BROWN. Mr. Speaker, as often the case with the current occupant of the White House, it all started with a lie. Nearly 2 years ago, JD Vance got up off his couch and tweeted a racist smear that Haitians in Springfield, Ohio, were eating cats and dogs. Days later, Donald Trump shamelessly repeated it at a Presidential debate. They knew it was a lie. They knew those families were here legally. They knew they were working, raising children, paying taxes, and helping rebuild a community. None of that mattered because the point was never to tell the truth. The point was to make Americans fear Haitians, to turn them into scapegoats, to convince the country that Black immigrants were the source of their problems. JD Vance admitted that he was willing to ``create stories'' to advance his political agenda. We all saw what happened next: Springfield was terrorized. Schools were closed. Bomb threats poured in. White supremacists descended on the city. So families lived in fear because two of the most powerful politicians in America decided that a racist smear was politically useful. They never apologized. Instead, they spent 2 years putting that lie to work and turning it into government policy. Now, that campaign of fear is the official policy of our government. Last week, the Supreme Court allowed the Trump administration to terminate the Temporary Protected Status, also known as TPS, for hundreds of thousands of Haitians, not because Haiti is safe, not because the facts have changed, but because this administration wants more people for ICE to deport. Haiti remains consumed by political collapse and humanitarian disaster. The conditions that justified TPS still exist. These are people who care for our seniors, build our community, and pay billions in taxes. They followed the rules. They trusted the American promise. Now, they are being told that a racist political narrative matters more than the law they followed to a T. This is not who we are, America. The House has already passed the bill extending TPS because the facts demand it and because decency requires it. Now, the Senate must pass it before the mass deportation tears lives and communities apart, all because of a racist, reckless, bigoted, blatant, dishonest, and disgusting campaign lie. Big Ugly Law Anniversary Ms. BROWN. Mr. Speaker, while families are struggling to keep up with rising prices for food, housing, gas, and utilities, this President is focused on something else entirely different--himself. He is spending taxpayer dollars on a lavish White House ballroom. He is tearing up the reflecting pool for another vanity project. He is putting his name and image on anything he can. While Americans are tightening their belts, Donald Trump is building monuments to himself. One year later, Republicans are still celebrating what they call the President's signature legislative achievement. That law ripped healthcare away from millions of Americans, cut food assistance for families and children, made it harder to afford college--all to hand out massive tax breaks to the wealthiest people in America. It was a transfer of wealth from working people to wealthy people. Mr. Speaker, 17 million Americans have lost healthcare. More than 4 million Americans, including 800,000 children, have already lost access to basic food assistance. Meanwhile, the wealthiest 0.1 percent received tax cuts worth nearly a quarter million dollars just last year. I will ask the simple question: How has Trump's big, ugly law helped the American people? As far as I can tell, it is just welfare for the wealthy and well-connected. Meanwhile, we have gotten higher prices, higher inflation, slower job growth, and an economy that works even better for those already on top. Republicans called it the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. I call it a big, ugly law, because there is nothing beautiful about taking healthcare and food away from families to pay for tax cuts for billionaires. Happy anniversary to Trump's signature achievement. One year later, the verdict is in: Working families paid the price, and the wealthiest Americans cashed the check. ____________________

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HAITI TEMPORARY PROTECTED STATUS Congressional Record, Volume 172 Issue 109 (Tuesday, June 30, 2026) [Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 109 (Tuesday, June 30, 2026)] [House] [Page H4330] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] HAITI TEMPORARY PROTECTED STATUS (Ms. Brown of Ohio was recognized to address the House for 5 minutes.) Ms. BROWN. Mr. Speaker, as often the case with the current occupant of the White House, it all started with a lie. Nearly 2 years ago, JD Vance got up off his couch and tweeted a racist smear that Haitians in Springfield, Ohio, were eating cats and dogs. Days later, Donald Trump shamelessly repeated it at a Presidential debate. They knew it was a lie. They knew those families were here legally. They knew they were working, raising children, paying taxes, and helping rebuild a community. None of that mattered because the point was never to tell the truth. The point was to make Americans fear Haitians, to turn them into scapegoats, to convince the country that Black immigrants were the source of their problems. JD Vance admitted that he was willing to ``create stories'' to advance his political agenda. We all saw what happened next: Springfield was terrorized. Schools were closed. Bomb threats poured in. White supremacists descended on the city. So families lived in fear because two of the most powerful politicians in America decided that a racist smear was politically useful. They never apologized. Instead, they spent 2 years putting that lie to work and turning it into government policy. Now, that campaign of fear is the official policy of our government. Last week, the Supreme Court allowed the Trump administration to terminate the Temporary Protected Status, also known as TPS, for hundreds of thousands of Haitians, not because Haiti is safe, not because the facts have changed, but because this administration wants more people for ICE to deport. Haiti remains consumed by political collapse and humanitarian disaster. The conditions that justified TPS still exist. These are people who care for our seniors, build our community, and pay billions in taxes. They followed the rules. They trusted the American promise. Now, they are being told that a racist political narrative matters more than the law they followed to a T. This is not who we are, America. The House has already passed the bill extending TPS because the facts demand it and because decency requires it. Now, the Senate must pass it before the mass deportation tears lives and communities apart, all because of a racist, reckless, bigoted, blatant, dishonest, and disgusting campaign lie. Big Ugly Law Anniversary Ms. BROWN. Mr. Speaker, while families are struggling to keep up with rising prices for food, housing, gas, and utilities, this President is focused on something else entirely different--himself. He is spending taxpayer dollars on a lavish White House ballroom. He is tearing up the reflecting pool for another vanity project. He is putting his name and image on anything he can. While Americans are tightening their belts, Donald Trump is building monuments to himself. One year later, Republicans are still celebrating what they call the President's signature legislative achievement. That law ripped healthcare away from millions of Americans, cut food assistance for families and children, made it harder to afford college--all to hand out massive tax breaks to the wealthiest people in America. It was a transfer of wealth from working people to wealthy people. Mr. Speaker, 17 million Americans have lost healthcare. More than 4 million Americans, including 800,000 children, have already lost access to basic food assistance. Meanwhile, the wealthiest 0.1 percent received tax cuts worth nearly a quarter million dollars just last year. I will ask the simple question: How has Trump's big, ugly law helped the American people? As far as I can tell, it is just welfare for the wealthy and well-connected. Meanwhile, we have gotten higher prices, higher inflation, slower job growth, and an economy that works even better for those already on top. Republicans called it the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. I call it a big, ugly law, because there is nothing beautiful about taking healthcare and food away from families to pay for tax cuts for billionaires. Happy anniversary to Trump's signature achievement. One year later, the verdict is in: Working families paid the price, and the wealthiest Americans cashed the check. ____________________