The Department of Homeland Security on Friday announced that it would terminate temporary protected status for hundreds of thousands of Haitians to potentially be deported from the United States.
The DHS plans to end TPS on Sep. 2 and issued a statement that the agency had ““determined that conditions in Haiti no longer meet the TPS statutory requirements.” Led by Kristi Noem, the DHS also claimed that conditions in the country have improved sufficiently for Haitians in the U.S. to return.
“This decision restores integrity in our immigration system and ensures that Temporary Protective Status is actually temporary,” according to the DHS press release. “Haitian nationals may pursue lawful status through other immigration benefit requests, if eligible.”
Despite Noem and the agency’s declaration that Haiti is now safe enough for its countrymen to return, the State Department has declared the country a risk level four and has advised Americans not to travel to the island due to the threat of kidnapping, civil unrest, and crime.
Haiti has been in Trump’s crosshairs since his campaign where lies and misinformation about Haitians in Ohio were said on national airwaves, including that they were eating cats, dogs, and geese and destroying the way of life in Springfield, Ohio.
Haiti is also listed on Trump’s travel ban.
The decision marks the latest step in the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown and follows a February move by DHS to revoke temporary legal protections for Haitians in the U.S.—protections initially granted under the Biden administration due to unsafe conditions in Haiti.
An estimated 500,000 Haitians will be affected by this decision.
