Half a Million Haitians Face Deportation as Trump Ends Temporary Protected Status

The Trump administration has announced the termination of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for roughly 500,000 Haitians, exposing them to potential deportation by August and revoking their work permits. The decision, revealed on Thursday, is part of the administration’s broader push to deliver on its mass deportation campaign promises and reduce reliance on TPS, a program expanded under President Biden to cover around 1 million immigrants.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) stated that it would vacate the Biden administration’s renewal of TPS for Haitians. TPS provides legal residency but does not offer a pathway to citizenship. The Trump administration criticized the policy, arguing that renewals had become automatic over time, irrespective of conditions in recipients’ home countries.

As of 2011, around 57,000 Haitians were eligible for TPS, but that number soared to 520,694 by mid-2024, according to DHS data.

“To send 500,000 people back to a country where there is such a high level of death is utterly inhumane,” said Tessa Petit, executive director at the Florida Immigrant Coalition. Petit emphasized that Haiti continues to meet all criteria for TPS protections and urged the government to prioritize humanity over politics during its planned review.

Haiti is currently grappling with a humanitarian crisis, with gangs controlling 85% of its capital and thousands displaced in overcrowded shelters, where violence and sexual assaults are widespread. According to the United Nations, over 5,600 people were killed in Haiti last year, and recent massacres have claimed the lives of hundreds more.

If the Trump administration proceeds without reinstating protections, mass deportations could begin as early as August, sending vulnerable individuals back to a nation plagued by violence, political instability, and economic collapse.

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