A petition to force a House vote on extending temporary legal protections to thousands of Haitians at risk of deportation to their violence-torn homeland secured the required support late Friday, including from four Republicans.

The rare procedural maneuver, led by Democratic Rep. Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts needed 218 signatures — a simple majority of the 435-members of the House — to discharge HR 1689 from committee and bring it to the floor. The legislation would require the Department of Homeland Security to designate Haiti for Temporary Protected Status amid the Trump administration’s efforts to end the benefit, which has allowed roughly 350,000 Haitians to live and work in the U.S. due to Haiti’s ongoing gang violence and political instability.

In addition to Democratic support, the petition also received backing from four Republicans, including Miami U.S. Rep. María Elvira Salazar. She became the first member of her party to support the effort after Pressley introduced it in January. The other three who crossed party lines were Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, Mike Lawler of New York and Don Bacon of Nebraska.

Immigration advocates on Saturday hailed the bipartisan support as historic and urged the Senate “to act swiftly once the House votes.”

Any signatory can now call up the measure for debate on the next eligible Monday. If the House passes the bill, it would move to the Senate, where it faces an uncertain path.

Haiti is among several countries whose TPS designations have been targeted by President Donald Trump. After five Haitian TPS holders sued on behalf of themselves and roughly 350,000 others at risk of detention and deportation, arguing racial and national bias, federal Judge Ana C. Reyes blocked the termination. Her ruling — finding that the plaintiffs were likely to succeed on the merits — was upheld in a 2-1 decision by a federal appeals court.

The administration has appealed to the Supreme Court, which is scheduled to hear arguments April 29 on ending TPS for Haiti and Syria.

Faith in Action, a nationwide network of faith-based community organizations, noted in a statement Saturday that without protection, hundreds of thousands of families face forced separation and mass deportation — and those deported would be returned to a country struggling against widespread gang violence, the absence of a functioning government, and a humanitarian crisis so severe that the U.S. government itself warns American citizens not to travel there.

The advocacy group is among those that pushed for the petition, urging supporters to call and write lawmakers.

“Faith cannot be neutral when families are put at risk,” said Bishop Dwayne Royster, executive director of Faith in Action, adding that lawmakers “answered the call of conscience.”

“We give thanks — and we keep organizing,” he said.

Faith in Action noted that the effort was aided by the four Republicans who crossed party lines.

“This win belongs to the people — to the clergy who made the calls, the community members who traveled to Washington, and the Haitian families who never stopped demanding to be seen,” said Claudette David of Faith in Action. “The Haitian diaspora community and friends of Haiti built these relationships one conversation at a time, and today that work changed history.”

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