WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. House of Representatives voted 219-209 on April 15, 2026, to approve a discharge petition advancing legislation that would grant Temporary Protected Status to eligible Haitian immigrants for a period of three years. Rep. Ayanna Pressley, co-chair of the House Haiti Caucus, brought forward the measure to reinstate the protections through the discharge petition procedure.

Members of the House can use discharge petitions to force votes on legislation despite leadership opposition. The coalition that carried the vote included 212 Democratic members, one independent member, and six Republican representatives. The Republicans who crossed party lines to vote in favor of the discharge petition were María Elvira Salazar, Carlos A. Gimenez, Brian Fitzpatrick, Don Bacon, Mike Lawler and Nicole Malliotakis. Rep. Don Bacon posted on X that removing TPS status for Haitians "would cost 350,000 workers their ability to work at a time of serious workforce shortages."

Reps. Laura Gillen and Lawler introduced the underlying legislation in the House last year. Temporary Protected Status is a federal designation that allows foreign nationals from countries facing war, environmental disasters or other unsafe conditions to live and work in the United States for a designated period. The legislation advanced through the discharge petition would extend those protections to eligible Haitian immigrants for three years.

The House vote followed months of legal disputes over the immigration status of Haitian nationals in the U.S. The Trump administration attempted to terminate Temporary Protected Status for approximately 350,000 Haitian immigrants last summer. A federal judge subsequently halted the termination and indefinitely postponed the removals in February.

The administration appealed the judge's decision shortly after the postponement was issued. The appeal is expected to be heard by the Supreme Court in April 2026.