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RESOLUTION URGING THE U.S. SECRETARY OF HOMELAND SECURITY TO GRANT TEMPORARY PROTECTED STATUS TO HAITIAN NATIONALS LIVING IN THE U.S. AND URGING THE U.S. CONGRESS TO SUPPORT SUCH EFFORT

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WHEREAS, the ongoing political instability occurring in Haiti poses a serious threat to the personal safety of the millions of Haitian nationals presently in Haiti, as well as those returning to Haiti from abroad; and
WHEREAS, in Section 244 of the Immigration Act of 1990, P.L. 101-649, Congress established a procedure by which Temporary Protected Status (TPS) may be provided to aliens in the United States who are temporarily unable to safely return to their home country because of ongoing armed conflict, an environmental disaster, or other extraordinary and temporary conditions; and
WHEREAS, during the period for which a country has been designated for TPS, TPS beneficiaries may remain in� the U.S. and obtain work authorization, but it does not lead to permanent resident status; and
WHEREAS, countries that are currently designated for TPS are Burundi, El Salvador, Honduras, Liberia, Nicaragua, Somalia, and Sudan; and
WHEREAS, Haiti itself previously was designated for TPS in 1998, but that status has since expired; and
WHEREAS, current conditions in Haiti are extremely dangerous, so that requiring Haitian nationals to return to their country would pose a serious threat to their personal safety; and
WHEREAS, permitting Haitian nationals to remain temporarily in the United States is in the national interest of our country as the world's leading democracy,
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, FLORIDA, that this Board:
Section 1. Urges the U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security to grant Temporary Protected Status to Haitian nationals currently in the U.S.
Section 2. Urges the U.S. President and the U.S. Congress to support the granting of Temporary Protected Status to undocumented Haitian nationals living in the U.S.
Section 3. Directs the Clerk of the Board to transmit a certified copy of this resolution to the U.S. President, the members of the Miami-Dade County Congressional Delegation and the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Section 4. Directs the County's federal lobbyists to advocate for the action set forth in Sections 1 and 2 above, and directs the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs to include this item in the 2007 Federal Legislative Package.