A senior House lawmaker said Thursday he would push to ensure the U.S. gives some people from the Caribbean legal status to remain in the United States in the wake of Hurricane Irma.

Rep. Eliot Engel, D-N.Y., wants the Department of Homeland Security to provide temporary protection status to Caribbean islanders whose home countries have been ravaged by one of the worst hurricanes in decades. The program was established to give a reprieve to people who can’t return to their home country for reasons including natural disasters, but it has grown controversial within the Trump administration, where some officials believe it has been abused in recent years.