WATCH: Padilla Condemns Trump’s Attacks on TPS Holders

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Amid President Trump's attacks on Temporary Protected Status (TPS) holders and immigrant communities across the country, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Immigration Subcommittee, and Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) took to the Senate floor alongside their Senate colleagues in support of Van Hollen's Safe Environment from Countries Under Repression and in Emergency (SECURE) Act, which Padilla cosponsored.

Last month, the Supreme Court rubberstamped President Trump's efforts to terminate TPS designation for those fleeing violence in Haiti and Syria. Since then, the Trump Administration has announced upcoming efforts to arrest and deport over 300,000 Haitian nationals in the United States. The SECURE Act would address uncertainty surrounding TPS in the United States and give TPS holders the ability to apply for legal permanent residency.

In his remarks, Padilla highlighted the unsafe humanitarian crisis in Haiti due to violence and lack of basic services and slammed the Trump Administration's continued efforts to deport TPS recipients back to Haiti despite deteriorating conditions.

"The Trump Administration itself is warning Americans not to travel to Haiti because of how unsafe it is. Yet the same Administration wants to force over 300,000 Haitian nationals, who until very recently held Temporary Protected Status, to go there," said Senator Padilla. "Thanks to the president's hostility towards immigrants, TPS holders from countries in turmoil, many of whom have lived in the United States for years, if not decades, are now in danger, at the mercy of this cruel Administration."

Padilla emphasized the need to protect TPS holders and underscored the vital impact TPS holders have on communities across the country. After Padilla recognized their hard work and the contributions they make to the U.S. labor force in essential roles, he blasted Trump's brazen detention and deportation agenda.

"Most Americans recognize how much TPS holders and immigrants, more broadly, contribute to our country. The economic, social, and cultural benefits they've provided as they've worked and lived among us for years, developing strong roots in our communities," continued Senator Padilla. "Collectively, they contribute around $29 billion to the U.S. economy every year, and pay more than $7.8 billion in federal payroll, state, and local taxes annually as well. That's right; they pay nearly 8 billion dollars in taxes. Every year. If more than 300,000 Haitian workers suddenly dropped out of the workforce, the impacts are going to be very real and very sudden."

"But this Administration is choosing to turn its back on the people that this program was meant to help and protect, while hurting our country in the process," concluded Senator Padilla. "So we need to do more, to protect people who have built their lives here and who have contributed so much to our country."

This year, Padilla joined his Democratic colleagues in filing an amicus brief in the U.S. Supreme Court in Trump v. Miot, later consolidated under Mullin v. Doe, which challenged the Trump Administration's unlawful termination of TPS for Haiti and Syria. In the brief, the lawmakers urged the Court to preserve TPS protections, highlighting Congress' intent to provide safe haven to protect those fleeing violence and disasters abroad with the creation of the TPS program.

Video of Padilla's remarks is available here.

Transcript of Padilla's remarks is available below:

Mr. President, I'm pleased to join my colleagues today in support of Senator Van Hollen's SECURE Act.

Across the country right now, hundreds of thousands of Haitian men, women, and children are terrified. They're terrified for their futures, for their children's futures. They're terrified about being forced back to a country that is gripped by a catastrophic humanitarian crisis. Nearly one and a half million Haitians have been displaced by gang violence. Food insecurity is widespread. Basic services have collapsed. It's a country that the State Department, the State Department, warns Americans not to travel to because of the risk of kidnapping, violent crime, and civil unrest.

Think about that for a second. The Trump Administration itself is warning Americans not to travel to Haiti because of how unsafe it is. Yet the same Administration wants to force over 300,000 Haitian nationals, who until very recently held Temporary Protected Status, to go there. Now the president has made it very clear, for years, what he thinks about immigrants from Haiti. And we've received reports in the past few days that the Department of Homeland Security is preparing for a mass roundup and swift deportation of these families in the coming days.

So now, thanks to the president's hostility towards immigrants, TPS holders from countries in turmoil, many of whom have lived in the United States for years, if not decades, are now in danger, at the mercy of this cruel Administration. But the fact of the matter is, the American people do not support the president's goal of kicking these men, women, and children out and forcing them back to a nation steeped in danger and turmoil. Because the American people recognize the fundamental fact that TPS holders, who were legally granted protection in the United States, who registered with the federal government, who passed background checks and received authorization to live and to work here - are human beings. Human beings that deserve respect and dignity, and we have a moral obligation to help when we can.

More than that, most Americans recognize how much TPS holders and immigrants, more broadly, contribute to our country. The economic, social, and cultural benefits they've provided as they've worked and lived among us for years, developing strong roots in our communities. Yes, over time, TPS holders become our neighbors, our coworkers, and our friends. More than 94% of TPS holders who participate in the labor force as of 2017, are nurses and construction workers, vital jobs for the people of the United States and for our economy. There are home health aides, hotel workers, and entrepreneurs. Collectively, they contribute around 29 billion dollars to the U.S. economy every year, and pay more than $7.8 billion in federal payroll, state, and local taxes annually as well. That's right; they pay nearly $8 billion in taxes every year.

If more than 300,000 Haitian workers suddenly dropped out of the workforce, the impacts are going to be very real and very sudden. And we can't forget that many are raising American children, not only as caregivers for other people's children, but as parents. To nearly 400,000 U.S. citizen children. And that impact is only magnified when you pull back and consider the more than 1 million people who had TPS as of early 2025 and have been targeted by this Administration and its cruel mass detention and mass deportation agenda.

So, colleagues, I'm going to say something that I don't say very often. I agree with Governor Mike DeWine, the Republican governor of Ohio, who has called ending TPS a "mistake." That's going to bring steep economic toll with it. Temporary Protected Status exists exactly for moments like this, when countries like Haiti, along with Venezuela, South Sudan, Afghanistan, and others, are experiencing exactly the kind of crisis that Congress had in mind when it created this program on a bipartisan basis. But this Administration is choosing to turn its back on the people that this program was meant to help and protect, while hurting our country in the process.

So we need to do more. To protect people who have built their lives here and who have contributed so much to our country. So I want to thank Senator Van Hollen for trying to pass the SECURE Act. He has my support, and I urge all of you to support the SECURE Act as well. Thank you, Mr. President. I yield the floor.

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