Haitian leaders, ranging from ministers to hip hop artists, are asking the Obama administration to let thousands of Haitians remain in the United States, officials said.

The Florida-based group wants the Obama administration to grant Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to as many as 30,000 undocumented Haitians.

That status would allow the Haitians to remain in the United States temporarily with a work permit until Haiti recovers from fierce storms that battered the island last year, the advocates said Monday at a rally in Miami.

Congress approved the protected status designation in 1990 for foreign nationals fleeing civil war and natural disasters.

The advocates said they plan to rally Wednesday in front of the White House.

Former U.S. President Bill Clinton, the U.N. special envoy to Haiti, publicly brought up the TPS issue in August and urged the advocates to respectfully pressure the Obama administration on the issue, the Herald reported.

The news conference today at the Jean-Jacques Dessalines Center is one of several events this week that seek to highlight the contributions of Haitians.