U.S. lawmaker who visited Haiti warns TPS return would be 'a disaster'

U.S. Rep. Ami Bera, a California Democrat and physician, said conditions in Haiti would make it dangerous to return Temporary Protected Status holders, following a bipartisan congressional visit to Port-au-Prince on July 27, 2026, the Miami Herald reported. It was the first such visit by U.S. lawmakers in seven years. The delegation, led by Florida Republican Rep. Brian Mast, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, also included Republican Kat Cammack and Democrat Jonathan Jackson. Bera told the Miami Herald the conditions were "pretty horrific" and reinforced his opposition to the Trump administration's decision to end protections for more than 350,000 Haitians. During the visit, at least three senior Haitian officials were among the latest gang kidnapping victims, and a 6-year-old U.S. citizen remained in captivity after 46 days despite ransom payments, the report said. Lawmakers met with interim Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé, who said the timing was wrong to return Haitians and that Cap-Haïtien could not absorb additional arrivals. On Monday, the Department of Homeland Security issued a bulletin announcing TPS protections were over. Bera said he plans to press for a bill extending TPS by three years, to 2029. The account is single-source and developing.