•HCON 88 IH 
mated 300,000 lives, displaced more than 1,500,000 peo-
ple, and caused approximately $14,000,000,000 in dam-
age, nearly twice the country’s $7,000,000,000 gross do-
mestic product (GDP); 
Whereas former President Barack Obama extended his deep-
est condolences to the people of Haiti and pledged un-
wavering United States support; 
Whereas three days after Haiti faced one of the worst disas-
ters in its history, then-Department of Homeland Secu-
rity (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano designated Haiti 
for temporary protected status (TPS), providing refuge 
for some 46,000 Haitian nationals who would be endan-
gered by returning to Haiti; 
Whereas in October 2010, just months after this unprece-
dented natural disaster, United Nations peacekeepers 
from Nepal, who were infected by cholera and engaged in 
unsanitary practices, caused a man-made disaster in the 
form of a cholera outbreak; 
Whereas the United Nations abdicated responsibility for the 
cholera outbreak and invoked absolute immunity for more 
than half a decade; 
Whereas, to date, the United Nations-caused cholera epi-
demic has killed nearly 10,000 people and infected nearly 
1,000,000 people in Haiti; 
Whereas a 5-year long, multinational campaign led by cholera 
victims and their families, that included widespread pro-
tests and litigation, compelled the United Nations to fi-
nally admit its role in the cholera epidemic, issue an apol-
ogy, and announce a two-part, $400,000,000 plan to ad-
dress cholera and assist victims; 
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•HCON 88 IH 
Whereas the United Nations had managed to raise only 
$2,670,000 of its $400,000,000 pledge to spur Haiti’s re-
covery from the cholera epidemic and provide redress to 
victims through May 2017; 
Whereas in stark contrast to former Secretary General Ban 
Ki-moon’s promise of a victim-centered response to the 
cholera epidemic, the United Nations has not effectively 
engaged cholera victims in the remedial process according 
to numerous reports; 
Whereas Haiti’s challenges were exacerbated on October 4, 
2016, after Category 4 Hurricane Matthew left a trail of 
damage and destruction of a level not seen since the 
2010 earthquake, causing damage estimated at one-third 
of the nation’s GDP, $2,700,000,000, causing hundreds 
of deaths, and leaving an additional 1,400,000 people in 
urgent need of humanitarian assistance; 
Whereas according to the World Bank, Haiti’s economic 
growth has contracted to less than one percent, the un-
employment rate remains above 40 percent, and the over-
whelming majority of Haitians (60 percent) continue to 
live well below the national poverty line of $2.42 per day; 
Whereas in 2016, the United States Citizenship and Immi-
gration Services, in coordination with other United States 
agencies, conducted on-the-ground assessments and re-
affirmed the persistence of the conditions which prompt-
ed Haiti’s TPS designation; 
Whereas these conditions include acute housing and food 
shortages, debilitating economic conditions, political in-
stability, susceptibility to environmental disasters, dis-
proportionate security risks faced by women and children, 
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•HCON 88 IH 
gutted infrastructure, and inadequate access to health 
care; 
Whereas the Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti es-
timates 
that 
Haitian 
TPS 
holders 
contribute 
$1,300,000,000 to Haiti’s economy through remittances, 
about 15 percent of GDP, and support up to 500,000 rel-
atives; 
Whereas the Immigrant Legal Resource Center estimates 
that termination of TPS for Haiti, which would deprive 
Haitian nationals of employment authorization, threaten 
the viability of their businesses, and require the United 
States to expend nearly $500,000,000 to deport Haitian 
nationals, would cost the United States more than 
$2,700,000,000 in GDP and $428,000,000 in Social Se-
curity and Medicare contributions over 10 years; 
Whereas just as their ancestors valiantly fought alongside our 
troops and contributed to our victory in the American 
Revolutionary War, Haitian TPS holders contribute to 
every aspect of society in the United States and are deep-
ly woven into our communities; 
Whereas Haitian TPS holders’ contributions include raising 
United States-born children and Haitian-American fami-
lies, creating jobs as entrepreneurs, making significant 
contributions to Social Security, Medicare, and other pro-
grams as taxpayers, improving our workforce and global 
competitiveness through their pursuit of higher edu-
cation, and supporting vulnerable Americans; 
Whereas President Donald Trump has commended Haitians 
for their contributions to American society, acknowledged 
Haiti’s lingering challenges, and committed to being the 
‘‘greatest champion’’ for Haitians; 
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•HCON 88 IH 
Whereas following a long advocacy campaign supported by 
more than 100 Members of Congress from both sides of 
the aisle, Governors, State and local legislators, activists, 
and various other leaders, the Department of Homeland 
Security extended Haiti’s temporary protected status 
through January 22, 2018; 
Whereas the short-term extension and ensuing statements 
have triggered widespread uncertainty and panic among 
Haitian TPS holders; 
Whereas extending Haiti’s temporary protected status for 18 
months would remove this uncertainty, enable bene-
ficiaries to continue making valuable contributions to 
Haiti and the United States, hasten Haiti’s recovery 
from the disasters that prompted the TPS designation, 
provide United States agencies adequate time to conduct 
on-the-ground assessments; and 
Whereas an 18-month extension of Temporary Protected Sta-
tus for Haiti would reaffirm a core American value: com-
passion: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 
concurring), That it is the sense of the Congress that— 
(1) the people of the United States stand in sol-
idarity with the people of Haiti and support efforts 
to help Haiti recover and develop into a prosperous 
democracy; 
(2) Haiti has not demonstrably recovered from 
the natural and man-made disasters, which prompt-
ed the Secretary of Homeland Security to designate 
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•HCON 88 IH 
Haiti as a temporary protected status (TPS) coun-
try; 
(3) the Secretary of Homeland Security should 
extend Haiti’s TPS designation, which is scheduled 
to expire on January 22, 2018, by 18 months, and 
should strongly consider economic, political, and en-
vironmental conditions, closely examine the imple-
mentation of anti-cholera efforts, and thoroughly as-
sess the contributions of Haitian TPS holders to 
Haiti and the United States in making extension de-
terminations; 
(4) the Secretary of State should urge the 
United Nations, in close consultation with cholera 
victims and stakeholders, expeditiously to fulfill its 
pledge to treat and eliminate cholera, improve long- 
term access to clean water and sanitation, and pro-
vide material assistance to victims; and 
(5) a democratic and equitably prosperous Haiti 
will be better positioned to provide opportunities for 
its citizens, address crises, meet its obligations, and 
advance interests and values shared by the United 
States and Haiti. 
Æ 
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