Trump administration nixes temporary immigration protections for Haitians

Despite acknowledging that some of the country’s “remaining concerning,” the administration of US President Donald Trump has announced it plans to remove hundreds of thousands of Haitians from their temporary immigration protections.

The US Citizenship and Immigration Services agency (USCIS) announced its intention to sever Haitians’ Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, on February 3 with a notice in the Federal Register on Wednesday.

According to estimates from the government, 352, 959 Haitian nationals and stateless people of Haitian descent are expected to be affected.

The draft version of the notice will go into effect on Friday.

The Department of Homeland Security aimed to walk a fine line in explaining its decision. On the one hand, it claimed that Haiti’s violent gangs and instability were US threats to national security.

On the other hand, it argued that Haiti’s current TPS-protected citizens should return.

According to the department, canceling Haiti’s program would be equivalent to granting Haiti’s future a vote of confidence.

The notice reads, “The end of Temporary Protected Status for Haiti represents a necessary and wise decision to accept the new chapter in which Haiti is heading.”

The United States cannot signal doubt from afar while calling for bold change on the ground.

Temporary Protected Status is a temporary measure of protection for foreign applicants who are already residing in the United States but discover that conflict, natural disasters, or other pressing circumstances have made things unsafe there.

The program grants legal residency and employment authorization to recipients.

Afghanistan, Sudan, Ukraine, Venezuela, and Yemen were among the 17 nations whose citizens were protected by various TPS programs at the start of the year.

However, the Trump administration has attempted to get rid of many TPS designations, claiming that doing so would conflict with American national interests.

The rollback is a part of a larger trend to reduce immigration to the US and implement what Trump has vowed will be the “largest deportation in the history of our country.”

However, critics warn that some foreign nationals could find themselves in danger if TPS is repealed and protections are not extended.

A humanitarian crisis

The island nation was first impacted by a catastrophic, 7.0-magnitude earthquake on January 21, 2010, prompting the launch of the TPS program for Haitian citizens.

According to US government statistics, nearly 1.7 million people were displaced from their homes and nearly 222, 570 people were killed.

Haiti experienced its first cholera outbreak in nearly a century that year. The disease’s spread at the time was the cause of a estimated 10,000 fatalities, and a new resurgence since 2022 has resulted in thousands more.

Haiti has long struggled with underadequate housing, food scarcity, and lack of health care because it is regarded as the most impoverished nation in the Western Hemisphere.

The Haitian government’s corruption and upheaval, as well as the spread of gang violence, have made these issues worse.

National elections were indefinitely postponed in 2019, and Jovenel Moise, the president, was murdered in his Petionville home in 2021. Since then, no one has taken his place, and late 2026 saw another round of national elections delayed.

The last Haitian National Assembly members who were democratically elected were given a 2023 term that was up.

Although the transitional presidential council’s nine members currently hold office, its terms are set to expire in February.

Gangs and other criminal organizations have taken control of as much as 90% of Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, without the support of the government.

As the gangs’ reach expanded, there have been more human rights violations. At least 1, 617 people were killed in the violence just this year between April and June. In 2024, the death toll was 5, 600, an increase over 2023.

Due to the fighting, at least 1.4 million people are currently being driven from their homes.

Appellate in court

However, according to Trump officials, the previous administration, under President Joe Biden, had a right to refuse to grant Haitians and other foreigners TPS extensions.

Trump has criticized Biden for allowing unrestricted entry into the US and attempted to thwart some of his predecessor’s efforts.

The Biden administration approved the most recent TPS extension for Haitians in July 2024, extending the protections for an additional 18 months.

However, under Trump’s orders, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced in February that she would “partially vacate” the extension, reducing it from 18 months to 12 months.

No later than September 2, that would have required Haitians using TPS to flee the nation or seek alternative immigration routes.

The highest level of danger is currently indicated by the US State Department’s category four travel advisory, which is currently in effect for Haiti. It mentions the country’s current state of emergency and points out that there are threats of “kidnapping, crime, terrorist activity, civil unrest, and limited health care.”

The State Department advises against visiting Haiti on its website, “Do not travel there for any reason.”

Plaintiffs have argued that restricting the extension is not only irresponsible but also illegal.

As she and 18 other state prosecutors filed an amicus brief to stop the TPS revocation, New York Attorney General Letitia James said in a statement earlier this year, “Revoking Haitians’ legal immigration status that has kept them safe with their families in the US is cruel and dangerous.”

“New York and this country would not be the same without the Haitian immigrants who have greatly impacted our communities, neighborhoods, and local economies.”

Racial animus has been raised by some of the legal challenges to the Trump administration’s decision.

For instance, Trump made racist and unfounded accusations about Haitian immigrants living in the US, including that they eat neighborhood pets while campaigning for re-election in 2024.

One of the cases referred to as Haitian Evangelical Clergy Association v. Trump was heard in a federal court in New York in July.

Judge Brian Coban ruled that extending the deadline was “arbitrary and capricious” and “violated plaintiffs’ due process rights.”

However, his ruling made it possible for the Trump administration to simply allow the current extension period to expire, as it does in Wednesday’s notice.

disputing the expiration date

Noem contends that an end to the program is necessary in light of the notice announcing the end of the TPS protections.

The Secretary stated in the notice that while the current situation in Haiti is concerning, the United States must prioritize its national interests. It is against the American people’s interests to permit Haitian nationals to temporarily reside in the country.

Additionally, it referred to Judge Coban’s July ruling as “interference” with executive branch operations.

Noem is alleged to have determined that Haiti’s extraordinary and temporary circumstances shouldn’t prevent TPS recipients from “returning in safety.”

However, it maintained that the government was unable to extend the TPS program because “even if the Department found that there were circumstances that were extraordinary.”

According to the notice, Haitian immigrants are still arriving in large numbers in the US.

Additionally, it highlighted the threat of organized crime and gangs in Haiti. As part of a wider crackdown against Latin American criminal networks, the Trump administration earlier this year referred to two Haitian organizations, Viv Ansanm and Gran Grif, as “foreign terrorist organizations.”

The absence of a central government in Haiti was also highlighted in the notice. According to the statement, “This lack of government control has directly impacted US public safety and destabilized Haiti internally.”

Noem’s assertion that Haiti has experienced “positive developments” was still underlined by this assertion.

For instance, the UN Security Council approved the creation of a gang-suppression force to aid Haiti’s police in October.

A Kenya-led, UN-endorsed multinational mission that has struggled to stop gang violence in Haiti would take the place of that initiative.

The notice claimed that granting TPS protections would undermine Haiti’s recovery goals.

According to the notice, “Our immigration policy must align with our foreign policy vision of a secure, sovereign, and self-reliant Haiti.”

However, it made a fair assessment of Haiti’s safety. Only “areas of the country are acceptable to return to,” it said.

Source: Aljazeera