Extend Haitians’ temporary protected status
A family values crisis will unfold unless Congress acts quickly. American children could be separated from their parents in order to protect them from an even more dire situation.
Imagine being a parent in that situation, faced with the choice of leaving your children in the U.S., with relative safety and security, or keeping them with you but placing them in a humanitarian crisis into which the U.S. Department of State advises U.S. citizens not to travel. Either leave your children behind or place them in harm’s way. What an impossible choice! What would you do?
As a conservative evangelical Christian, I’ve long appreciated the importance of family values. In the 1990s, I listened to a radio show called Focus on the Family. The host of that show, James Dobson, taught of the importance of families, of children having a mother and father to care for them, and how these values can directly relate to public policy. Secular research reinforces the psychological damage incurred by children during prolonged separation from their parents at young ages. This is why my heart aches for these 50,000 children and the policies that needlessly lead to their situation.
Many American Christians already have a love for the people of Haiti, who are often fellow believers. Those connections have been developed through mission trips and international adoption. We long to see their nation safe, free and prosperous. But until that time comes, our faith drives us to do what we can to protect the vulnerable.
It’s not too late for Congress to reinstate Haitian TPS. I join hundreds of Christian leaders representing more than 56,000 congregations across the country who have urged Congress to do just that. Thankfully, the House of Representatives has already passed a bill in April that would extend TPS through 2029. All that is left is for the Senate to act.
Texas can play an important role for these 50,000 children. With two Republican senators, both of whom speak about the importance of their Christian faith influencing their policy views, Texas can lead the way in pushing this bill across the finish line. I urge Sens. John Cornyn and Ted Cruz to focus on these families, support extending TPS for Haitian refugees and prevent the humanitarian crisis before us. It’s the right thing to do, as a Texan, as an American and as a Christian.
Napp Nazworth is executive director of the American Values Coalition.
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