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Groups From Alaska, Maine and Worldwide Urge Senators Murkowski and Collins to Take the Next Step to Protect Haitian Women and Girls from Sexual Assault

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
OCTOBER 8, 2026
MEDIA CONTACT:
Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project (Maine): press@ilapmaine.org
Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti: info@ijdh.org

Portland, ME and Juneau, AK: Groups in Alaska and Maine delivered a letter yesterday to their
Senators, Susan Collins (R-ME) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), urging them to follow up their
previous support for women and girls at risk of sexual assault in Haiti by co-sponsoring S.
4814, a bill that would provide three years of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haiti. The
letter, also signed by 148 organizations worldwide, notes that reinstating TPS would protect
350,000 Haitians—half of them women and girls–from deportation to a Haiti suffering from
pervasive gang violence that includes horrific levels of brutal sexual assaults.

In February of this year, Senators Murkowski and Collins were lead sponsors of Senate
Resolution 599, which “condemn[ed] the systematic sexual violence and other gender-based
harms directed at women and girls in Haiti and the accompanying lack of protection, services,
and accountability.” Today, the risk of extreme violence for women and girls in Haiti is even
higher than it was in February. The other two lead sponsors of Resolution 599, Senators Jacky
Rosen (D-NV) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) have co-sponsored S. 4814.

Lisa Parisio, Policy Director at the Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project (ILAP) in Maine said:
“Ensuring that Haitian TPS holders are protected from life-threatening conditions and able to
continue living and working at their homes in the U.S. had broad bipartisan support in the House
and should in the Senate, too. Ripping people from their families, communities, and jobs is
causing needless and unjustifiable harm on all levels and is squarely against the best interest of
Maine and the country. By restoring TPS for Haiti, this bill will safeguard human life, keep
families together, and protect our workforce and businesses in Maine and beyond.”

TPS is an immigration protection established by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
that allows nationals of designated countries to stay and work in the US when natural disasters,
civil unrest or other conditions make it unsafe for them to return home. DHS originally
designated Haiti for TPS following the country’s January 2010 earthquake. Most recently, TPS
was renewed in 2024 due to escalating gang violence and other factors.

Bruce Botelho of the Juneau Sponsor Circle noted that “S.4814 embodies some of the highest
ideals of our nation: compassion and protection of human dignity. Removal of TPS status
subjects countless thousands of Haitians to intolerable and, in many cases, life-threatening
conditions. It simultaneously deprives our society of the substantial contributions Haitians have
made to our communities across the spectrum of occupations and professions.”

Diana Duarte, Chief Strategy Officer, Advocacy & Policy of MADRE added that “In Haiti, our
local partners have repeatedly sounded the alarm that armed gangs are subjecting women and
girls to systematic sexual and gender-based violence and terrorizing entire communities. If TPS
is not reinstated, and Haitians living in the United States today are forced to return to Haiti, the
US will be knowingly sending Haitian women and girls into a security crisis.”

DHS terminated TPS on August 5, following delays from court challenges, and has deported
over 450 Haitians since. In April, Republicans and Democrats in the House of Representatives
approved a 3-year Haiti TPS extension and sent the bill to the Senate. S. 4814 now has 46
co-sponsors. Public opinion polling shows broad support from Americans for Haiti TPS
beneficiaries.