Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) on Thursday leaned into the centrist Republican reputation, publicly pushing back against the Trump administration‘s decision to end temporary protected status for Haitian asylum-seekers.
The online post from Lawler follows the Supreme Court ruling earlier in the day that the White House has the right to end TPS for Haitian and Syrian migrants. Particularly, the high court rejected claims that the Haiti TPS case was unconstitutionally motivated by racial prejudice.
“While I have never disputed the ability of the President to end Temporary Protected Status (TPS), I strongly disagree with ending Haitian TPS at this time,” Lawler posted on X.
Lawler, a centrist Republican, said Haitians should be granted TPS because of the “humanitarian and political disaster” that “continues to warrant an extension.” He also noted that the State Department has called for Americans on the island to evacuate and avoid visiting due to gangs “engaged in gun and drug trafficking, and kidnapping innocent Haitians.”
Secondly, Lawler said hundreds of thousands of legal Haitian immigrants hold TPS status, many of whom work in the healthcare industry. He argued that ending Haitians’ protected status could “create a crisis in our hospitals, nursing homes, and in the [intellectual and developmental disabilities] community.”
“I’m asking the administration to allow for an orderly process by which Haitian TPS holders can maintain their work authorization while their immigration cases are adjudicated over the next six months, if the revocation of TPS moves forward,” he said.
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Lawler going against President Donald Trump is not unusual for the New York Republican, who often takes a centrist stance and bucks House GOP leadership. Additionally, Lawler is defending his seat in the midterm elections and could be making his case to undecided and independent general election voters.
New York’s 17th Congressional District is a swing seat, and Lawler faces Democratic challenger Cait Conley. Conley faced scrutiny in the primary race for her ties to tech companies that are contracted with the Department of Homeland Security, but those same ties could garner support from the district’s Republican voters.