Whip Clark Slams Supreme Court TPS Decision: "Horrendous, Racist Policy"
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Democratic Whip Katherine Clark (MA-5) joined Rep. Ayanna Pressley (MA-7), Sen. Ed Markey, and House Democrats to denounce the Supreme Court's decision allowing the Trump administration to revoke TPS status for over 350,000 Haitians and thousands of Syrians. Below is a transcript of her remarks:
"I want to thank my senator and my colleague from Massachusetts, Senator Markey and Ayanna Pressley, for leading us here today.
"If this doesn't make you mad, I don't know what does. When we are saying to 350,000 Haitian refugees that you are not welcome. When we are saying to 45,000 of our fellow Bay Staters that they are not welcome.
"They are saying to every single one of us, 'You don't count, and we don't see you.' Because you cannot take away families, communities. TPS holders are our teachers, our construction workers, our small business owners, and they are our caretakers. I know from personal experience.
"When I was caring for my mom, who had Alzheimer’s, and caring for my dad, who had suffered a debilitating stroke. Without Haitian caretakers, my family would not have been able to get to work. My parents would not have had the care that they needed. And that story is repeated over and over. And at a time when we are not investing in the American people? When the message to them is: 'You’re struggling with the high costs of childcare, of elder care, of healthcare in general, of housing and groceries and electric bills. We're building a system here in the Trump administration that only benefits the billionaire class. That only benefits the well-connected.'
"So, this decision upholding this horrendous, racist policy of deportation is offensive to everyone on every single level. And it is saying to the American people, once again, loudly and clearly: 'You don't matter. You don't matter.'
"The only policy that we're seeing out of Congress is one of Republicans' self-preservation. Because they see what's coming, and they know the American people are on to them. That they are rigging a system further against them.
"And just yesterday, we saw it [with] a bipartisan housing bill. It's supposed to be what we do here in Congress. We come together. We take a step towards each other. And we do something the American people need. And why was that blocked? Because Donald Trump decided it was better to rig an election and preserve his political power than to do something to help you.
"And what we're seeing today is another manifestation of that same policy. We are not going to stand by and let Haitian and Syrian and other TPS holders [bear] the brunt of it.
"These are families. These are people who came to this country seeking refuge and have helped us. They help our economy. They help our communities. They help our families as well.
"We have to stand with our neighbors. We have to stand with the American people. And this decision has ripple effects throughout our country.
"So, this is what we're going to do: We are going to fight. We are going to stand together and fight. We are not going to turn our backs and say, 'We wish it came out some other way.' We will file the legislation. We will protest. And we will mobilize the vote in November to end these policies."
The full press conference can be viewed HERE. Photos of the event can be viewed HERE.
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