Latest news with #Haiti
CBS News
3 hours ago
- Politics
- CBS News
Haitians fear overcrowding, limited resources as DHS announces end of TPS
South Floridians react to U.S. plans to revoke immigration status of Haitian migrants in September South Floridians react to U.S. plans to revoke immigration status of Haitian migrants in September South Floridians react to U.S. plans to revoke immigration status of Haitian migrants in September Hours after the Department of Homeland Security announced it will officially end Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haitians living in the United States, residents in northern Haiti expressed deep concern about the impact of returning migrants. In Cap-Haitien, the news spread quickly, dominating conversations across the city. The streets of downtown were crowded Friday afternoon as people continued their daily routines amid a tense and uncertain atmosphere. Concerns over infrastructure, healthcare, and housing The city, already straining from a growing population of people fleeing gang violence in the capital city of Port-au-Prince, may now face a fresh influx. One Haitian man voiced alarm at the possibility. "We gotta deal with the gang situation and the humanitarian [situation]," said Virme Wilmond. "All those people need food. We don't have health care. How are we going to receive all those people? That's going to be a real problem, I can tell you." Visitors also note lack of progress Robin Nash, a visitor from Los Angeles, noted worsening conditions in the city. "There's already a housing problem here right now and if you saw downtown Cap, there's nothing but trash," she said. "I'm thinking of the deepest darkest ghetto." According to CBS News Miami, Nash said this was her second trip to Haiti and that she had not seen improvement since her last visit. TPS termination set for September 2 DHS Secretary Kristy Noem said in a statement that the decision to terminate TPS aligns with the original intent of the program, noting that conditions in Haiti had improved. She added that allowing Haitians to remain in the U.S. would be "contrary to the national interest." Two flights departing from Miami were reported full, with some passengers permanently relocating to Haiti. The TPS designation ends August 3, with termination effective September 2. Without legal intervention, hundreds of thousands of Haitians currently living in the United States could lose their protected status that day.
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
U.S. to end TPS for Haitians on Sept. 2; Florida to feel brunt of Trump crackdown
Florida will feel the brunt of the June 27 Trump administration order to revoke Temporary Protected Status for half a million Haitians living in the United States as of Sept. 2, leaving them undocumented and at risk of deportation. Over 128,000 Haitians with TPS live in Florida and have jobs in health care, hospitality, agriculture and construction, industries already facing steep labor shortages. The Department of Homeland Security announced on June 27 that the current TPS designation for Haiti set to end on Aug. 3 will officially be terminated on Tuesday, Sept. 2. DHS argued conditions in Haiti had improved and no longer met the conditions to grant Temporary Protected Status, which allows people from specific countries to live and work in the United States and avoid deportation. Long troubled by poverty, political corruption and violence, Haiti is going though one of its worst moments of unrest, with gangs controlling many of the areas in the capital Port Au Prince. Most Haitians in the United States say they don't have a safe place to return to if they have to go back to the Caribbean nation, which is 750 miles from Miami. 'They are hopeless': Haitian immigrants face deportation to violence, poverty they fled Temporary Protected Status is a humanitarian designation given to people from specific countries that are suffering from armed conflict, a natural disaster or other "extraordinary and temporary" conditions that make returning home unsafe. President Barack Obama extended it to thousands of Haitians in the wake of the 2010 earthquake. It allows people covered by it to live and work in the United States, but they are not considered permanent residents, nor do they have a pathway either to permanent residency or citizenship. In order to obtain TPS, immigrants must pass a full background check and they may not have any previous felony convictions or two or more misdemeanors. Having Temporary Protected Status allows people to get a driver's license and receive a Social Security number, a requirement to work legally in the United States, and to file taxes, but they do not have access to any federal public benefits, including Social Security benefits. The designation prevents people from being deported to their native countries. About one-third of all 1.1 million TPS holders live in Florida, of which 59% are Venezuelan and 35% are Haitians, according to a 2024 report by the federal government. Many Haitian TPS holders have lived in the Sunshine State for over a decade. They have jobs as nurses in hospitals and in senior living facilities; as cooks servers and cleaning staff in restaurants in hotels; as farm workers in the fields; and as day laborer in construction sites. Many of them are now parents to U.S.-born children. Some are homeowners and others run small businesses. According to the DHS order, all 500,000 Haitians with TPS living in the United States would loose their legal status and their ability to work. Without TPS, they can also be deported to Haiti. The decision is the latest blow from the Trump administration to Haitians living in the United States. On May 30, DHS moved to end a humanitarian parole program for half a million immigrants including 210,000 Haitians. Parole is granted to people dealing with persecution or family or medical emergencies. They need a sponsor in the United States who can support them financially. This month, Trump announced a travel ban to and from Haiti, along with several other nations. Valentina Palm covers Royal Palm Beach, Wellington, Greenacres, Palm Springs and other western communities in Palm Beach County for The Palm Beach Post. Email her at vpalm@ and follow her on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, at @ValenPalmB. Support local journalism: Subscribe today. This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: U.S. to end TPS for Haitians on Sept. 2; More than 128,000 affected
Washington Post
7 hours ago
- Politics
- Washington Post
Trump administration ends legal protections for half-million Haitians who now face deportations
MIAMI — The Department of Homeland Security said Friday that it is terminating legal protections for hundreds of thousands of Haitians, setting them up for potential deportation. DHS said that conditions in Haiti have improved and Haitians no longer meet the conditions for the temporary legal protections. The termination of temporary protected status, or TPS, applies to about 500,000 Haitians who are already in the United States, some of whom have lived here for more than a decade. It is coming three months after the Trump administration revoked legal protections for thousands of Haitians who arrived legally in the country under a humanitarian parole program, and it is part of part of a series of measures implemented to curb immigration.
Associated Press
7 hours ago
- Politics
- Associated Press
Trump administration ends legal protections for half-million Haitians who now face deportations
MIAMI (AP) — The Department of Homeland Security said Friday that it is terminating legal protections for hundreds of thousands of Haitians, setting them up for potential deportation. DHS said that conditions in Haiti have improved and Haitians no longer meet the conditions for the temporary legal protections. The termination of temporary protected status, or TPS, applies to about 500,000 Haitians who are already in the United States, some of whom have lived here for more than a decade. It is coming three months after the Trump administration revoked legal protections for thousands of Haitians who arrived legally in the country under a humanitarian parole program, and it is part of part of a series of measures implemented to curb immigration. Recently, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned a federal judge's order preventing the administration from revoking the parole program. TPS allows people already in the United States to stay and work legally if their homelands are deemed unsafe. Immigrants from 17 countries, including Haiti, Afghanistan, Sudan and Lebanon, were receiving those protections before President Donald Trump took office for his second term in January. President Trump is ending protections and programs for immigrants as part of his mass deportations promises. During his political campaign he said his administration would scale back the use of TPS, which covered more than 1 million immigrants. His campaign highlighted unfounded claims that Haitians who live and work legally in Springfield, Ohio, as TPS holders were eating their neighbors' pets. Hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans and some Afghans have been told already that they're losing their TPS status. Some of the Haitians who benefit from TPS have requested asylum or other lawful immigration status that could protect them from deportation, although it is not clear how many could be left without any relief. 'This decision restores integrity in our immigration system and ensures that Temporary Protective Status is actually temporary,' a DHS spokesperson said. 'The environmental situation in Haiti has improved enough that it is safe for Haitian citizens to return home.' The Department of State, nonetheless, has not changed its travel advisory and still recommends Americans 'do not travel to Haiti due to kidnapping, crime, civil unrest, and limited health care.' Temporary protected status for Haitians expires on Aug. 3, and the termination will be effective on Sept. 2, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said. DHS advised TPS holders to return to Haiti using a mobile application called CBP Home. Frantz Desir, 36, has been in the U.S. since 2022 on asylum, but he says he is concerned by the Trump administration's decision to terminate TPS. 'You see your friends who used to go to work every day, and suddenly—without being sick or fired—they just can't go anymore. It hits you. Even if it hasn't happened to you yet, you start to worry, 'What if it's me next?'' Desir says his asylum court date was set for this year, but the judge rescheduled it for 2028. Desir lives in Springfield, Ohio, with his wife and two children, and he works in a car parts manufacturing plant. ——- AP reporter Obed Lamy contributed from Indianapolis
The Guardian
7 hours ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
US says Haitians can be deported – days after ruling Haiti unsafe for Americans
More than half a million Haitians are facing the prospect of deportation from the US after the Trump administration announced that the Caribbean country's citizens would no longer be afforded shelter under a government program created to protect the victims of major natural disasters or conflicts. Haiti has been engulfed by a wave of deadly violence since the 2021 murder of its president, Jovenel Moïse. Heavily armed gangs have brought chaos to its capital, Port-au-Prince, since launching an insurrection that toppled the prime minister last year. On Tuesday, the US embassy in Haiti urged US citizens to abandon the violence-stricken Caribbean country. 'Depart Haiti as soon as possible,' it wrote on X. But less than 72 hours later, on Friday afternoon, the Department for Homeland Security – which is at the heart of Donald Trump's hardline migration crackdown - said it believed it was 'safe for Haitian citizens to return home' and announced their protections were being withdrawn. 'The environmental situation in Haiti has improved enough that it is safe for Haitian citizens to return home,' a DHS spokesperson claimed as it was announced that an estimated 521,000 Haitians would be stripped of their 'temporary protected status' (TPS) on 2 September this year. 'This decision restores integrity in our immigration system and ensures that temporary protective status is actually temporary,' the spokesperson said. The decision sparked an immediate outcry. Tessa Petit, the executive director of the Florida Immigrant Coalition and a Haitian immigrant, told Newsweek: 'I'm still in shock, but I'm totally disgusted. This is a complete lie stating that the situation in Haiti has improved enough that it is safe for Haitian citizens to return home. This is a lie.' The TPS program was created by US lawmakers in 1990 and was initially used to offer protection to those fleeing El Salvador's 12-year civil war during which more than 75,000 people were killed. Since then it has been used to offer shelter to citizens of countries such as Afghanistan, Somalia, Ukraine and Venezuela. Haitians were first offered TPS status after the 7.0 magnitude earthquake that devastated Port-au-Prince in 2010, claiming tens of thousands of lives. It is unclear how the DHS reached its conclusion that Haiti was now 'safe'. Experts say more than 80% of the capital has been commandeered by violent, politically connected gangs in recent years, with the gang-controlled roads in and out of Port-au-Prince now considered too dangerous to travel. International carriers including American Airlines stopped flying into the city's airport after several flights came under fire in late 2024. The US state department describes Haiti as a 'level four' destination which citizens are advised not to visit 'due to kidnapping, crime, civil unrest, and limited health care'. Its website warns: 'Crimes involving firearms are common in Haiti. They include robbery, carjackings, sexual assault, and kidnappings for ransom. Kidnapping is widespread, and US citizens have been victims and have been hurt or killed … Mob killings and assaults by the public have increased, including targeting those suspected of committing crimes.' The UK Foreign Office also warns against all travel to Haiti because of the 'unpredictable' security situation and the threat of kidnapping and gang violence. 'Road travel is highly dangerous. Armed carjacking is common and criminal groups often use improvised road blocks to extort or kidnap motorists,' it says.
