derail nancy pelosi s plan. a high-wire act to pass a bipartisan infrastructure deal and a larger reconciliation bill filled with progressive priorities. in a few minutes i will get reaction from progressive caucus member debbie dingell. plus, millions of college students moving into their dorms as cases rise to dangerous levels in covid hot spots. we will look at that coming up. first, let s guess to the major breaking news out of haiti. we are continuing to follow. the death toll continuing to rise. at least 227 people are confirmed dead following this morning s magnitude 7.2 earthquake. the powerful quake, the biggest to hit haiti since the one that devastated the island back in 2010. let s go now to nbc s vaughn hillyard in miami s little haiti neighborhood with more on how the haitian american community is reacting to the news. vaughn, what are you hearing
more about this later a tropical storm is set to hit the island on monday. if you have major structural damage, you could easily end up with an aftermath that is as dangerous as the original quake. president biden has authorized an immediate response, and he ae administrator in charge of us ark id, in charge of that response and that, of course, indicates the u.s. already sees a major reconstruction effort needed for haiti. eric: i can take it back near new york. haitian-americans in the u.s. a anxious for word of their loved ones after that earthquake. haiti, as you may know, shares hispaniola with the dominican republic. alex hogan in the center of new york s haitian-american community. reporter: i was able to speak with many people this
the administration to make this announcement. i know this is something you talked about with the secretary a few weeks ago. reporter: that s right. you described it exactly as i would. it s a huge sigh of relief for the haitian-american community. over 100,000 people living in the country. in the wake of the 2010 earthquake, that s the first time they were granted temporary protected status. it was granted throughout the obama administration. the trump administration attempted to pull that back. there were activists waiting because of dire economic conditions, food insecurity in the wake of the pandemic, that they wanted the biden administration to put that into place as quickly as possible. the biden administration allowed 34 deportation flights, according to haitian-american activists. it was something when earlier this month when i was with
kaylee hartung is in little haiti in miami. what are you hearing? reporter: this is a community who remembers well a day of september in 2016 when donald trump, then a candidate for president, came to a community center just behind me here and said no matter who you vote for, i want to be your biggest champion. a promise to the haitian-american community that now rings hollow to many. i m running to be president of all americans. that s everybody. and whether you vote for me or you don t vote for me, i really want to be your greatest champion and i will be your champion. reporter: that was then candidate donald trump speaking in miami s little haiti neighborhood just months before the 2016 presidential election. the haitian people deserve better, and that s what i intend to give them. i will give them better. [ applause ] reporter: but in the wake of reports that the president complained about immigrants coming from, quote, shit hole countries, among other
the haitian/american community deserves our gratitude and our respect. and i want you to know you have my respect. the haitian people deserve better, and that s what i intend to give them. ly give them better. we have a lot of commonly shared values. maybe full shared values. i m wanting to be president of all americans. that s everybody, and whether you vote for me or you don t vote for me, i really want to be your greatest champion, and i will be your champion. i m running to represent haitian americans and african americans and asian americans and everyone who lawfully resides in our borders. okay. well, what a difference a year makes, i guess. that s donald trump talking about how much he loves and respects the haitian people and everything about the haitian people except for the s-hole