On Friday, March 20, 2009 from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m., there will be a demonstration in front of the offices of Immigration & Customs Enforcement at 26 Federal Plaza (corner Broadway and Thomas Street) in Manhattan to demand that the Obama administration immediately grant Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to the 30,000 undocumented Haitians in the U.S. who are currently threatened with deportation back to Haiti. Previously, the Bush administration refused to grant Haitians the status, which allows them to live and work legally in the country.

Four storms last autumn caused widespread death and destruction in Haiti, making life there more precarious than ever. Advocates warn that Haitians would be sent back to homelessness, hunger and disease.

In recent years, TPS has been granted to nine countries plagued by war and natural disasters including Honduras, El Salvador, and Nicaragua.

"There is no conceivable justification to send Haitians back to a country where food is scarce, roads are washed away, and cities are still buried in mud," said Jean Bertrand Laurent of the Lavalas Family. "If ever there was a situation that cries out for TPS it is Haiti today."

Friday's demonstration is being called by a wide range of Haitian organizations and media including the New York chapter of the Lavalas Family party, the International Support Haiti Network (ISHN), the Haitian Coalition to Support the Struggle in Haiti (KAKOLA), Radio Pa Nou, Haiti Liberté newspaper and Haiti Alliance Television. It is also supported by several North and Latin American organizations including the Congreso Nacional Dominicano, Accion Comunitaria La Aurora, ANSWER Coalition's New York chapter, the Bail Out the People Movement, and the International Action Center.