Seven GOP Reps Join Democrats To Extend Haitian Deportation Protections

The final vote for the measure came just days after a Haitian illegal immigrant, Rolbert Joachin, fatally attacked a woman at a Fort Myers gas station on April 3, repeatedly striking her in the head with a hammer, according to a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) press release.

The DHS said Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) assisted local police in tracking down and arresting Joachin following the incident.

One administration official, responding to the seven GOP members voting in favor of the extension for Haitians in the country, noted the vote comes just after the alleged murder of a Florida woman at the hands of a Haitian migrant.

Proud to join a bipartisan effort alongside Rep. Gillen to pushing for an extension for Haitian Temporary Protected Status. We were joined by Reps. Ayanna Pressley, Whip Katherine Clark, and a bipartisan group of our colleagues who are moving forward with a discharge petition to… pic.twitter.com/zcOTVHtpvm

— Congressman Mike Lawler (@RepMikeLawler) April 16, 2026

“Six days ago, a Haitian man beat a woman to death with a hammer. Yesterday, a Republican majority Congress voted to keep 350K Haitians here, an average of 18 per city. The blood from this woman’s skull had barely dried in the cracks of the Florida pavement before pro-amnesty republicans began marching over her grave in an effort to keep these ‘doctors and lawyers’ in our streets,” the official said in a statement to the Caller. (RELATED: ‘They Are Afraid’: Locals Say Haitians Are Hoofing It Out Of Springfield After Trump Election Win)

The vote also comes just days before the Supreme Court is set to hear oral arguments in Trump v. Miot, consolidated with the related Syria TPS case, Mullin v. Doe. In late 2025, the Trump administration moved to terminate Haiti’s Temporary Protected Status, setting an end date of February 3, a decision that would have affected roughly 350,000 beneficiaries.

However, a federal district court in Washington, D.C., blocked the termination in early February 2026, finding it likely unlawful, and the D.C. Circuit later upheld that injunction.

The Supreme Court granted expedited review and will hear oral arguments on April 29, the last day of its April argument session.

Until the Court rules, the lower court’s stay remains in effect, so Haitian TPS protections, including work authorization, continue.

🚨 WTF?! SIX “Republicans” just joined Democrats to ADVANCE a bill BARRING Trump from deporting illegal Haitians, 219-209

This comes just DAYS after a Haitian MURDERED an innocent mother with a hammer.

The GOP has a MASSIVE RINO problem

These six have to go:
– Salazar (of… pic.twitter.com/aNA6dvHJkI

— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) April 15, 2026

Republican Tennessee Rep. Tim Burchett further acknowledged the murder that took place in Fort Myers, Florida, saying that it’s due to a “liberal mindset” that Haitians will leave the country and be brought over to the U.S. with the expectation they will change, but do not.

Burchett suggested that lawmakers who support the policy may be motivated either by political considerations — like Haitian constituents who vote — or by a more liberal worldview that he believes is out of step with the country, adding that some people want to fundamentally remake the system. (RELATED: Gang Attacks Leave Dozens Dead In Haiti Before International Forces Arrive, Rights Group Says)

“I think you probably have some Haitians in your district that vote. Is a high, that would be the. Or you’re just of the liberal mindset that. And some people honestly just have a real dislike for this country in a little bubble, thinking that they, you’re just gonna. Tear it all down and build it back up,” Burchett told the Caller.

Similarly, Republican Rep. Tennessee Andy Ogles reiterated his firm opposition to any form of amnesty, saying he intends to actively oppose Republicans who support such measures. He argued that extending TPS for Haitians undermines U.S. sovereignty and amounts to a betrayal of national interests.

“I will never be an amnesty Republican, and I will spend every day of my career in Congress destroying their aims to crush our sovereignty,” Ogles said in a statement to the Caller. “TPS for Haitians is a national betrayal.”

The Daily Caller also reached out to Republican Reps. Greg Steube and Byron Donalds of Florida for comment, but did not receive a response in time for publication.