Constitution Index · H.R. 1689 · 2025-02-27

To require the Secretary of Homeland Security to designate Haiti for temporary protected status.

Latest official status (2026-04-21): Read the second time. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 374.

Official source ↗

Constitutional grade

A

Constitutional

HR 1689 is constitutional. It exercises Congress's enumerated power over naturalization and immigration, does not infringe any Bill of Rights protections, respects individual sovereignty by providing relief from detention and removal, passes all four decentralization questions, and follows proper legislative due process.

Article I, Section 8, Clause 4 Amendment X Amendment V

SI-generated grade · passed automated checks (real Constitution citation, language rules) · not individually reviewed by a person · methodology · Report an error: hello@valuesforamerica.com

The five checks

Enumerated powers · passes

Congress has explicit constitutional authority over immigration and naturalization under Article I, Section 8, Clause 4, which grants Congress the power to 'establish an uniform Rule of Naturalization.' The Supreme Court has long recognized plenary federal power over immigration, including the authority to grant temporary protected status as a form of humanitarian relief. This bill falls squarely within that enumerated power.

Bill of Rights · passes

The bill does not infringe any of the first ten amendments. It grants employment authorization and protection from detention and removal to eligible Haitian nationals, which is a benefit, not a restriction. No speech, religion, press, assembly, petition, arms, quartering, search and seizure, self-incrimination, due process, trial, jury, cruel and unusual punishment, or reserved powers issues are implicated. The Tenth Amendment is not violated because immigration is a federal power.

Individual liberty · passes

The bill expands individual freedom by allowing eligible Haitian nationals to work lawfully and remain in the United States without fear of detention or removal. It does not restrict what any person can do with their own person, property, speech, labor, or belief. The government is providing a benefit, not imposing a restriction, so no compelling justification is required.

Decentralization · passes

This action passes all four questions. (1) An individual or family cannot handle immigration status determinations on their own; this requires uniform national policy. (2) A local community or county cannot handle TPS designations; immigration is inherently federal. (3) A state cannot handle TPS designations; the Constitution assigns immigration to the federal government. (4) This does not consolidate decision-making upward unnecessarily; it is a proper exercise of existing federal authority over immigration.

Due process and takings · passes

The bill follows proper legislative procedure: it was introduced, passed by the House, read twice in the Senate, and placed on the legislative calendar. It does not bypass due process or take property without just compensation. TPS is a discretionary humanitarian designation, not a property right, so no Takings Clause issue arises under the Fifth Amendment.

Provenance

Grade ID
347
Rubric version
vfa-constitutional-grade/1.0
Graded
2026-10-09 07:20 UTC
Engine
backup SI engine
Source fetched
2026-10-07 23:07 UTC
Source SHA-256
2a48665ffbb244267643666477513ca24e802845c1c2456dd2c53cdce01ec008
Checks
si-editorial-standard/1.0: real Constitution citation, language rules

Version history · never overwritten

GradeGradedRubric Source hashStatus
A · #347 2026-10-09 vfa-constitutional-grade/1.0 2a48665ffbb2 current

Cite this

Values for America. “Constitutional grade: H.R. 1689, To require the Secretary of Homeland Security to designate Haiti for temporary protected status..” VFA Constitution Index, grade 347 (rubric vfa-constitutional-grade/1.0), graded October 9, 2026. https://www.valuesforamerica.com/constitution-index/grades/347. Accessed 2026-10-20.

Permalink: https://www.valuesforamerica.com/constitution-index/grades/347

Data: this grade as JSON · full export. Attribution required.

← The Constitution Index