Latest news with #Haitian
&w=3840&q=100)
First Post
an hour ago
- Politics
- First Post
Trump revokes temporary protection for 520,000 Haitians
The Department of Homeland Security said it was ending Temporary Protected Status for Haitians on September 2 and encouraged those who were living in the United States under the program to return home read more The Trump administration said Friday it is terminating temporary legal protections that allowed more than 520,000 Haitians to live in the United States. The United States grants Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to foreign citizens who cannot safely return home because of war, natural disasters or other 'extraordinary' conditions. The Department of Homeland Security said it was ending TPS for Haitians on September 2 and encouraged those who were living in the United States under the program to return home. Former president Joe Biden extended TPS for Haitians before leaving office, allowing them to reside in the United States until February 2026. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD But the Trump administration announced in February that it was canceling the extension. It said on Friday it was terminating TPS for Haitians altogether on September 2. 'The environmental situation in Haiti has improved enough that it is safe for Haitian citizens to return home,' DHS said. Permitting Haitian nationals to remain temporarily in the United States is contrary to US national interest, it added. Struck by a devastating earthquake in 2010, Haiti has suffered from political instability for decades and more recently from increasing violence by armed groups. The US State Department currently advises Americans not to travel to Haiti 'due to kidnapping, crime, civil unrest and limited heath care.' President Donald Trump has pledged to carry out the largest deportation campaign in US history and curb immigration, mainly from Latin American nations. Trump ordered a review of the TPS program on his return to the White House and his administration has revoked TPS protections for Afghans and Venezuelans in addition to Haitians. During his campaign Trump made baseless claims that an Ohio city had seen a recent influx of Haitian migrants who were stealing and eating residents' cats and dogs. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD A UN human rights expert called on the United States and other nations in March not to expel Haitians back to their violence-plagued country. William O'Neill, a UN-designated expert on human rights in Haiti, said deporting people back there would be unsafe. 'Violent criminal groups continue to extend and consolidate their hold beyond the capital,' O'Neill said. 'They kill, rape, terrorize, set fire to homes, orphanages, schools, hospitals, places of worship, recruit children and infiltrate all spheres of society.'
Boston Globe
2 hours ago
- Politics
- Boston Globe
White House ending protected status for Haitian migrants, sparking fears in Massachusetts
The department set a Sept. 2 termination date for Haitians living in the country under temporary protected status. (The program ends Aug. 3 but officially takes effect Sept. 2). Protected status shields immigrants from deportation and grants them work permits. It is reserved for people fleeing countries in upheaval. 'This decision restores integrity in our immigration system and ensures that Temporary Protective Status is actually temporary,' a DHS spokesperson said in a statement. 'The environmental situation in Haiti has improved enough that it is safe for Haitian citizens to return home.' Advertisement In Massachusetts, Haitians are one of the state's largest immigrant populations. The local Haitian community and advocates for them decried President Trump's undoing of the protections. Pastor Dieufort Fleurissaint, a Haitian community advocate known by his nickname, Pastor Keke, said there was 'consternation' in Boston's Haitian community Friday evening as word spread. 'Everyone is calling to ask what's going to happen to their future here, to their employment, to the future of their children,' he said in a telephone interview. Fleurissaint said the conditions in Haiti have not improved as federal officials have suggested. Advertisement 'You have a humanitarian collapse,' he said. 'The decision today will leave returning Haitian citizens at very high risk of persecution, danger, homelessness. People have nowhere to go.' Fleurissaint said he was still processing the news himself. 'The only hope we have is God,' he said. 'God and to call upon our friends and allies, elected officials, to advocate on our behalf, so these families can be protected and find a way to enact permanent solutions.' Haitians were granted temporary protected status after the island nation suffered a devastating earthquake on Jan. 12, 2010. The designation has been extended several times. President Joe Biden extended it until 2026 right before he left office. Ruthzee Louijeune, 'It is also bad for our economy,' she said. 'Haitian health care workers with TPS helped our country get through the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic, often to the detriment of their own bodies and families," she said. 'Anyone who states that country conditions have improved in Haiti is actively and affirmatively lying,' she said. Representative Ayanna Pressley condemned the DHS decision on social media as 'an act of policy violence that could literally be a death sentence.' 'We should NOT be deporting anyone to a nation still dealing with a grave humanitarian crisis like Haiti,' Pressley wrote on Heather Yountz, senior immigration staff attorney at the Massachusetts Law Reform Institute, said, 'This is a heartbreaking example of the Trump administration stripping people of their legal status without a justified reason simply to fulfill the harmful mass deportations he promised.' Advertisement The idea that the gang-ridden country which hasn't seen an election in nearly a decade is safer 'is preposterous,' Yountz said. After a review of the conditions in Haiti from US Citizenship and Immigration Services and in consultation with the US Department of State, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem determined that Haitians no longer meet the requirements for TPS, Friday's statement said. The agency encouraged Haitians who don't have another means of gaining lawful status after their TPS status expires to self-deport, and use the US Customs and Border Protection app to report themselves leaving the country. Despite DHS's claims that Haitians could return home 'safely,' dozens of Haitians interviewed by the Globe in the past year have said that they would be unable to go back to Haiti without the threat of violence and severe economic instability back in their country. The State Department also cautions US citizens not to visit Haiti, The In Massachusetts, immigration advocates had been preparing for this moment since the Trump administration announced back in February that it would revoke the Biden extension of Temporary Protected Status for Haitian immigrants. 'We've been expecting this,' said Sarang Sekhavat, the Chief of Staff at the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition. 'But it's horrible regardless.' Advertisement Some TPS holders have lived in Massachusetts for more than a decade after fleeing the aftermath of the earthquake, severe gang violence, and political turmoil. In 2021, the country's president was assassinated. 'It's not like the situation in Haiti has gotten better,' Sekhavat said. Sekhavat said that MIRA and its partners have been encouraging Haitians here under TPS to consult with attorneys, to see what kinds of options might be available to them. Some may have other means to stay in the country legally, like applying for asylum, or if they have US relatives or employers who could petition for their legal status. But, Sekhavat said, 'unfortunately, there's not a blanket answer for these folks.' Boston-based Lawyers for Civil Rights, The group said that DHS's assertions that conditions in Haiti have improved are 'simply false.' 'Haiti is experiencing unprecedented political violence, instability, and humanitarian collapse. Even the U.S. State Department warns Americans not to travel there — yet DHS insists Haitian families can safely return? That contradiction is indefensible,' the statement said. 'We are not backing down. We will use every legal tool at our disposal to stop this cruel and unlawful termination,' the statement added. Giulia McDonnell Nieto del Rio can be reached at
Miami Herald
4 hours ago
- Politics
- Miami Herald
‘Kiss of death': South Florida reacts to end of Haiti's Temporary Protected Status
Nadine Mallebranche was only five years old when her family fled the political upheaval of Francois 'Baby Doc' Duvalier's Haiti in the late 1980s. In the United States, the Mallebranche family found safety. After her parents died when she was 13, Mallebranche bounced from foster home to foster home. Social workers tried to help her with her immigration case, but it fell through the cracks, she said. She remained unsure of her legal status for decades. Everything changed for Mallebranche when Haitians were granted deportation protections and work permits under Temporary Protected Status. For the last 15 years, she has not had to fear being sent back to a country she doesn't remember. She could legally work as a store supervisor. 'It was a lifeline,' she told the Miami Herald. But on Friday, Mallebranche, now 45, learned that the Trump administration is ending TPS for over half-a-million Haitians living in the United States. Come this fall, she could be forced to return to a gang-ridden Caribbean country struggling with record hunger and political instability. 'I'm facing potential deportation to a country that is overrun by criminal gangs,' said Mallebranche. 'The only home that I know is the United States.' In the first six months of 2025, extreme violence in Haiti killed about 2,700 people . Sexual violence and kidnappings are rampant. Almost 1.3 million people are internally displaced and 5.7 million people face acute hunger. READ MORE: Trump ends TPS for Haitians. More than a half-million people now face deportation But a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security said on Friday that 'the environmental situation in Haiti has improved enough that it is safe for Haitian citizens to return home' — even as the State Department warns Americans to not travel there at all because of kidnapping, civil unrest, limited healthcare, and extreme gang violence. This week, the agency urged Americans to 'depart as soon as possible.' Litigation challenging the termination of Haiti's TPS is very likely. But the Trump administration's decision to end TPS has sent shock waves through South Florida, the heart of the Haitian diaspora in the United States. Over 300,000 Haitians call the Miami metro area home, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Nearly 511,000 live in Florida. In South Florida, advocates and community leaders condemned Homeland Security's decision on Friday, calling it a dangerous and wicked policy that threatens the lives of Haitians if they are forced to return there. 'Deporting Haitians back to Haiti is a kiss of death,' said U.S. Rep. Frederica Wilson, the federal lawmaker who represents Miami. 'This news is insanity on steroids, and it is heartbreaking to my community. We cannot send anymore people back to Haiti. This ruling is hateful, inhumane and heartless.' The Florida Immigrant Coalition said in a statement that 'Haiti is not in any shape to sustain human dignity and life, and any suggestion to the contrary is nothing but lies.' 'Forcing Haitians to return to Haiti right now is not just morally indefensible, it is a humanitarian catastrophe,' said Tessa Petit, the Haitian-born director of the coalition. One Haitian TPS holder who asked not to be named condemned the decision and emphasized the contribution of Haitian immigrants to the United States. 'These are the hands that heal you, feed you, teach your children, and serve your communities. Revoking Haitian TPS is not policy, it's humane and economic sabotage. You don't get to call people essential when it benefits you, then disposable when it doesn't,' she said. Others, like the Board of the Haitian American Chamber of Commerce in Florida, shared messages of support to those affected, which includes many Haitian families where status for different members ranges from undocumented to U.S. citizenship. 'Our community's strength has always been rooted in resilience, unity, and the pursuit of opportunity. We will continue to stand together in that spirit,' said the coalition in a statement. Homeland Security said in Friday's announcement of the termination that it 'encouraged' Haitians to self-deport. Some Haitians have previously told the Herald that they would rather risk immigration detention in the United States than return to Haiti. As part of a widespread crackdown on immigration, the Trump administration has ended humanitarian protections for immigrants from countries in turmoil, like Cuba, Nicaragua, Venezuela and Haiti. The previous administration granted an 18-month extension of the protections in January, following a country review, because conditions in Haiti are so dangerous. Current Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem rolled back the year-and-a half-long extension, a decision that is being litigated in federal courts. On Friday, the agency ended Haiti's TPS altogether. The TPS designation expires on Aug. 3, and the termination kicks into effect a month later, on Sept. 2. 'This decision restores integrity in our immigration system and ensures that Temporary Protective Status is actually temporary,' the DHS spokesperson said. Congress created TPS in 1990 as a way to grant deportation protections and work permits to people who are already in the United States and cannot return home to countries navigating war, conflict or natural disasters. The secretary of Homeland Security can designate a country for TPS, and periodically conduct a review to determine whether conditions warrant extensions of current designations or expansions that can include more people under the protections. Large swaths of Haiti, including about 90% of its capital Port-au-Prince, are under the control of criminal gangs that terrorize the population. The country is as dangerous for children as the Gaza Strip, according to a recent UN report. A lack of basic necessities, a government in collapse and a crumbling healthcare system make life extremely difficult for people in the country, which has not held elections since 2016. Mallebranche cannot imagine returning to a country in turmoil, a homeland where she hasn't stepped foot in decades. She hasn't told loved ones yet she might be deported. 'This is infuriating, not only for me, but every other person that this is now happening to. What are we supposed to do?'
Miami Herald
6 hours ago
- Politics
- Miami Herald
From protection to peril: What end of TPS means for Haitians in South Florida, elsewhere
The Trump administration's decision to end Temporary Protected Status for over half-a-million Haitians living in the United States has sent shock waves throughout South Florida, the beating heart of the Haitian community in the United States. Many advocates and experts expected the decision. It comes after Trump moved to end the deportation protections for Venezuela and rolled them back a year-and-a-half for Haiti. Now, hundreds of thousands of people are vulnerable to being forced to return to the Caribbean country, where the government is crumbling and armed gangs are terrorizing the population. A recent report from the United Nations found that Haiti is as dangerous for children as the Gaza Strip. Below, we break down what this move means, who it affects, and what may come next. Q: What is Temporary Protected Status? A: TPS is a humanitarian immigration program that allows citizens from countries facing natural disasters, armed conflict or extraordinary instability to temporarily live and work in the United States. It does not provide a pathway to permanent residency or citizenship, but it shields recipients from deportation as long as their country remains designated under TPS because they are unable to return there safely. Congress created TPS in 1990. The Secretary of Homeland Security has the authority to designate countries and periodically review countries to grant or continue the protections. Q: Why was Haiti granted TPS in the first place? A: President Barack Obama first designated Haiti for TPS in the aftermath of the catastrophic 2010 earthquake near the capital of Port-au-Prince, which killed more than 300,000 people and devastated the country's infrastructure. Over the years, TPS has been repeatedly renewed due to chronic instability, gang violence, economic collapse and the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in 2021. Q: How many Haitians in the U.S. are affected by the decision? A: Nearly 521,000 Haitian nationals are currently protected under TPS. Many have lived in the U.S. for years, built families, held jobs and contributed to their communities. Many are also part of mixed-status families where the immigration status of the households can range from undocumented to green-card holders and U.S.-born citizens. Q: What exactly did the Trump administration announce? A: On Friday, the Department of Homeland Security said the U.S. will end Haiti's TPS designation, citing 'sufficient improvement' in the conditions that allegedly make it safe for Haitians to return. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem had already rolled back the Biden-era extension of February 2026, moving it up to August 3, 2025. Deportations are expected to begin after Sept. 2. Q: How did the administration justify the decision? A: A DHS spokesperson claimed the move 'restores integrity in our immigration system' by ensuring TPS remains 'temporary.' The department asserted that Haiti's conditions have improved enough to permit safe return. Q: Is Haiti really safe to return to? A: Many experts— and even the U.S. State Department — disagree. The State Department currently warns Americans not to travel to Haiti due to 'kidnapping, crime, civil unrest and limited health care.' This week, the agency urged Americans to depart the Caribbean country 'as soon as possible' or to be prepared to shelter in place for a long time. Armed gangs control up to 90% of Port-au-Prince. Over a million Haitians are displaced, and 5.7 million face acute hunger, according to the United Nations' Humanitarian Affairs Office. There has also been a collapse of social services, and many children are unable to go to school. Haitians who are deported face the risk of having to cross gang-controlled roads to get home — or having nowhere to go to if returned because gangs have taken over people's homes and neighborhoods. Q: What does this mean for Haitian TPS holders now? A: Haitian nationals under the designation must prepare to leave by Sept. 2, 2025, unless a court intervenes or the administration reverses course. DHS has 'encouraged' them to use the CBP One app to 'self-deport' — meaning leave the country voluntarily. Without TPS, Haitians will lose legal protection from deportation and authorization to work in the U.S. if they don't have other immigration process going. Q: Could this decision face legal challenges? A: It is very likely. The Trump administration attempted to end TPS for Haitians and others back in 2017, but the move was successfully challenged in federal court. Immigration advocates and legal organizations are expected to file lawsuits again, arguing that conditions in Haiti remain too dangerous for return. There is also an ongoing lawsuit in New York related to Noem's earlier decision to roll back Haiti's TPS Haiti's by 18 months. READ MORE: Haitians and clergy group sue Trump over decision to end protection from deportation Q: Didn't Biden already extend TPS for Haitians until 2026? A: Yes. In July 2024, before leaving office, President Biden extended TPS for Haitians through February 2026. However, Secretary Noem ordered a review of the extension and rolled back the expiration to Aug. 3, 2025. The legality of that reversal may also be contested in court. Q: How does this fit into Trump's broader immigration agenda? A: Since returning to office, President Trump has focused on aggressively undoing Biden-era immigration policies. He has sought to drastically limit humanitarian programs, including ending CHNV — a two-year parole program for migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela — and reducing TPS designations. The Supreme Court recently allowed the administration to revoke CHNV protections while legal challenges are ongoing. Trump also enacted a travel ban that limits visa issuance and entry for nationals from Venezuela, Haiti and Cuba. Q: What happens to other migrant groups under TPS or parole? A: The Haitian decision follows similar revocations for Afghans and Venezuelans. Around 350,000 Venezuelans may lose protection when their status ends in September. Advocates fear a domino effect targeting all migrants with temporary status under humanitarian grounds. Q: What are advocates and immigration attorneys saying? A: Immigrant rights groups say the decision is inhumane and premature, pointing to the spiraling gang violence, hunger crisis and government collapse in Haiti. Deporting people to a country without a functioning government, basic services or security, they argue, violates international human-rights norms. The Florida Immigrant Coalition said in a statement on Friday that Haiti was not in 'any shape to sustain human dignity and life, and any suggestion to the contrary is nothing but lies.' Q: What should Haitian TPS holders do now? A: Legal experts urge Haitians to consult immigration attorneys immediately. Some may qualify for other forms of relief or adjustment of status, such as a spouse- or family-based green-card petition. Others may be eligible for asylum if they can show evidence they would face persecution or violence upon return. Q: What is the political reaction to the announcement? A: Critics have slammed the decision as part of Trump's hard-line anti-immigration platform, which he promoted during his campaign with inflammatory and false remarks — including a 2024 campaign claim from Trump that Haitians 'eat their neighbors' pets.' Supporters argue that the administration is restoring the original, temporary intent of TPS and reclaiming executive control over immigration enforcement. READ MORE: 'It's a disaster.' In Miami, Trump leans into pet-eating falsehoods about Haitians Q: What's next? A: Lawsuits are expected, and courts may delay or block TPS termination, as happened in 2018. Advocacy groups plan to lobby Congress for a permanent solution, like a pathway to residency for long-term TPS holders. In the meantime, more than half a million Haitian immigrants are once again left in limbo.
NBC News
6 hours ago
- Politics
- NBC News
Trump administration to end deportation relief for Haitians in the U.S.
U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem will end deportation protections for half a million Haitians, the latest move by the Trump administration to strip migrants of legal status as it ramps up deportations. Noem, who shortened the duration of Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, for some 521,000 Haitians earlier this year, will terminate the status on September 2, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said. President Donald Trump, a Republican, has sought to crack down on both legal and illegal immigration during the first four months of his presidency. Noem, who shares Trump's hardline stance, moved in February to end TPS for some 350,000 Venezuelans, as well as thousands of people from Afghanistan and Cameroon. The Supreme Court ruled on May 19 that the Trump administration could proceed with ending TPS for those Venezuelans, signaling that other terminations also may be permitted to move forward. The court in a separate order on May 30 said that the administration could immediately revoke a separate status known as parole for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans. TPS — a humanitarian program created by the U.S. Congress in 1990 — is available to people whose home country has experienced a natural disaster, armed conflict or other extraordinary event. Two months before the status expires, the homeland security secretary must determine whether to renew it, expand it to include new arrivals from the country, or terminate it. 'People think TPS is a free pass, but it's not,' Abigail Desravines, a 35-year-old Haitian immigrant who came to the U.S. following the earthquake, told NBC News earlier this year. 'You have to keep renewing, pay fees and live with the fear that it could end at any time. It's not an easy path.' Trump sought to wipe out most TPS enrollment during his first term but was stymied by federal courts. In a statement, a DHS spokesperson said conditions in Haiti would now allow people to return but did not explain what exactly had changed to lessen the risk. 'The environmental situation in Haiti has improved enough that it is safe for Haitian citizens to return home,' the spokesperson said. Advocates argue that the conditions in Haiti warrant extending the relief. The country has not held an election in nearly a decade. Since the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in 2021, armed gangs have gained control over much of Port-au-Prince, creating a power vacuum that has made governing a challenge and fueled further violence, homelessness and starvation. More than 5,600 people were killed and 1,400 were kidnapped amid gang conflicts last year, according to the United Nations. The violence has rendered 1 million people homeless in Haiti, forcing many into makeshift shelters and exacerbating the country's economic challenges. Despite the dire conditions, the Trump administration has frozen some funding earlier pledged to support a U.N.-backed mission in Haiti.
