President Donald Trump’s efforts to restrict legal immigration and paint negative, racist pictures of immigrant communities received a congressional rebuke on Wednesday. Democrats, as well as members of the president’s party, voted to support a measure that would allow hundreds of thousands of Haitians to remain in the United States despite efforts by the Trump administration to cancel their protected status.

House advances legislation to renew protected status for Haitians in the U.S.

The Washington Post reported Wednesday that the House of Representatives advanced a bill to the floor that would renew Temporary Protected Status for thousands of Haitians in the United States for three years. The House move sets up a final vote on the bill later this week, which is expected to pass given the majority in favor of bringing the bill to the floor. The move to advance the vote was supported by 212 House Democrats, one independent, and six Republican representatives.

One of those Republicans, Rep. Michael Lawler of New York, cosponsored the bill with Rep. Lauren Gillen, D-N.Y. Lawler explained to his colleagues, “I have one of the largest Haitian populations in the country in my district.” He argued that if the administration ended TPS for Haitians “without addressing work authorization, it will cause a huge crisis in our health care system, especially in an area like mine, where a lot of our Haitian TPS holders are nurses.”

Republicans siding with Democrats to push against Trump’s agenda

The bill reached the House floor over the opposition of Speaker Mike Johnson through a discharge petition. This mechanism allows a majority of representatives to force consideration of a piece of legislation. Given Republicans’ narrow control of the House, Democrats have only been able to bring such petitions successfully with some Republican support. The same procedure was used in 2025 to force a vote on releasing the Epstein files. The Epstein vote represented a notable instance of some GOP members being willing to cross the aisle and defy Trump on an issue about which he has been vocal. Wednesday’s vote, meanwhile, is the first time that the current House has passed a discharge petition against Trump’s stance on an immigration-related issue. Trump spent much of the 2024 presidential campaign and his subsequent second term vilifying immigrant communities, with racist attacks against Haitian and Somali immigrants, among others, and he has used this rhetoric to push harsh policies concerning both unauthorized and legal immigration.

Fate of Haitians in the U.S. remains uncertain as legislative and legal fights continue

At issue is the designation of Haiti as a country under Temporary Protected Status, a classification created in 1990 for countries facing acute emergencies, such as natural disasters or significant civil conflict. Citizens of countries given the TPS designation have a pathway to come to the U.S. and reside in the country until circumstances improve in their home countries. As Blavity reported, Trump announced in 2025 that he was ending TPS for the over 300,000 Haitians currently residing in the U.S. under the program. Federal courts have temporarily blocked the president from revoking their status. The House bill could decide the issue if it becomes law, but it’s unclear if or when the Senate will take it up, and it’s uncertain whether the Republican-controlled body would pass it as well. Even if senators approve the measure, Trump could still veto the bill, and it would be difficult for supporters to gather two-thirds majorities in the House and Senate to override a veto. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court is scheduled to begin hearing arguments on the case on April 29.

With legislative and legal fights over TPS, the status of hundreds of thousands of Haitians seeking safety in the U.S. remains in the balance. While the current legislation may not ultimately decide whether Haitians who fled danger in their country can remain in the U.S., the move to push the TPS bill shows that congressional opposition to Trump is growing, with more members of his party willing to go against him on key issues.