Senators Edward Kennedy and John Kerry (D-Massachusetts) have joined a growing chorus of Congressional voices urging President Barack Obama to grant temporary protected status (TPS) to approximately 30,000 Haitians living in the U.S. illegally. The protection would allow them to work legally and send money to home. In a letter sent to the White House today, Kerry and Kennedy joined three colleagues in urging the president to grant TPS designation based on their "concern about the humanitarian crisis in Haiti and for the Haitian population in the United States." "Critics of the TPS program have argued that a TPS designation will encourage nationals of the designated country to migrate to our country," the senators say in the letter. "However, TPS would only be available to Haitians already in the United States and there is little evidence to support the claim that such a designation would result in increased migration." A full copy of the letter can be viewed here.