New Jersey S 3197: Requires DHS to establish Haitian Migrant Assistance Program.

Bill Text

(Sponsorship Updated As Of: 10/7/2024) 
SENATE, No. 3197  
STATE OF NEW JERSEY 
221st LEGISLATURE 
   
INTRODUCED MAY 9, 2024 
 
 
Sponsored by: 
Senator  BRITNEE N. TIMBERLAKE 
District 34 (Essex) 
Senator  ANGELA V. MCKNIGHT 
District 31 (Hudson) 
 
 
 
 
SYNOPSIS 
 Requires DHS to establish Haitian Migrant Assistance Program.  
 
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT  
 As introduced. 
    

 
S3197 TIMBERLAKE, MCKNIGHT 
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AN ACT concerning the provision of financial and social services to 1 
Haitian migrants  and  supplementing  Title  30  of  the  Revised 2 
Statutes. 3 
 4 
 BE IT ENACTED by the Senate and General Assembly of the State 5 
of New Jersey: 6 
 7 
 1.  The Legislature finds and declares the following: 8 
 a.    Labeled  as  one  of  the  poorest  countries  in  the  Western 9 
Hemisphere,  Haiti  has  been  battered  by  natural  disasters,  including 10 
earthquakes  and  hurricanes,  and  extreme  economic  hardships  for 11 
hundreds of years. 12 
 b.  The catastrophic earthquake in 2010 killed more than 220,000 13 
Haitians  and  left  several  thousand  injured  and  about  1.5  million 14 
homeless.    Another  earthquake  in  2021  pushed  the  country  into  an 15 
even greater crisis. 16 
 c.    In  addition  to  natural  disasters,  the  country  experienced 17 
additional   upheaval   because   of   the   assassination   of   President 18 
Jovenel  Moïse  and,  as  result,  many  Haitians  were  confronted  with 19 
growing violence, extreme poverty, and a government in disarray. 20 
 d.  As the security and political situation in the Caribbean nation 21 
continued to devolve after President Moïse’s death, gang violence 22 
increased and continues to affect everyday life to a perilous degree. 23 
 e.    Ordinary  Haitians  are  afraid  to  leave  their  homes  even  to 24 
access  food  and  water,  and  the  institutions  nominally  in  charge  of 25 
the country lack a true mandate to power and have proven incapable 26 
of managing the chaos. 27 
 f.    It  is  not  only  political  instability  and  natural  disasters  that 28 
have  hindered  Haiti's  economic  growth.    The  country  has  also 29 
battled public health emergencies, including a cholera epidemic and 30 
the  coronavirus  disease2019  (COVID-19)  pandemic.    This  has  led 31 
to the massive exodus of Haitians to Central and Latin America and, 32 
most recently, the United States. 33 
 g.    In  prior  years,  many  Haitians  fled  to  countries  like  Brazil, 34 
Chile, and Panama in order to find work, but those who could afford 35 
the  trip  faced  low  wages  and  discrimination.    As  a  result,  many 36 
Haitians  left Central  and  Latin  America  and  started traveling to the 37 
United States border. 38 
 h.    Given  the  political  turmoil,  economic  distress,  public  health 39 
emergencies,   and   natural   disasters   the   country   faces,   Haitian 40 
migrants  continue  to  undergo  the treacherous journey  to  the United 41 
States,  many  who  have  lost  their  lives  in  the  attempt,  in  search  of 42 
safety and economic opportunity. 43 
 i.    Haiti  is  the  country  with  the  highest  rate  of  asylum  denial  in 44 
the  United  States,  according  to  data  from  the  Justice  Department.  45 
This    has    resulted    in    many    Haitians    entering    this    country 46 
undocumented  and  without  the  ability  to  access  traditional  migrant 47 

 
S3197 TIMBERLAKE, MCKNIGHT 
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services  that  provide  them  with  the  financial  support  and  social 1 
networks necessary to settle in the United States and in New Jersey. 2 
 j.  It is therefore in the public interest of the State to establish an 3 
assistance   program   to   provide   social   services   and   financial 4 
assistance  to  undocumented  Haitian  migrants  who  have  recently 5 
arrived in New Jersey. 6 
 7 
 2.    a.    The  Department  of  Human  Services  shall  establish  a 8 
Haitian  Migrant  Assistance  Program  to  provide  social  services  and 9 
financial  assistance  to  undocumented  Haitian  migrants  who  have 10 
arrived  in  the  State  at  least  two  years  prior  to  the  effective  date  of 11 
this act. 12 
 b.    As  used  in  this  section,  “undocumented  Haitian  migrant” 13 
means  a  person  of  Haitian  descent  residing  in  the  United  States 14 
without  legal  immigration  status,  including  a  person  who  entered 15 
the United States without inspection and proper permission from the 16 
United  States  government  in  order  to  find  work  or  better  living 17 
conditions or to permanently relocate to the United States, and who 18 
may be subject to removal by the government. 19 
 c.    The services  offered  by  the  program  established  pursuant  to 20 
subsection a. of this section shall include the following: 21 
 (1)   information   concerning,   and   assistance   in   completing, 22 
applications  for  appropriate  State  and  federal  housing  assistance