Latest news with #PortAuPrince
Yahoo
12 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
US sets deadline to end Temporary Protected Status for Haitian immigrants
The United States government has announced it will terminate special protections for Haitian immigrants. In a statement issued Friday, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said that, starting on September 2, Haitians would no longer be able to remain in the country under the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designation. TPS allows nationals from countries facing conflict, natural disaster or other extraordinary circumstances to temporarily remain in the US. It also gives them the right to work and travel. The designation is typically made for periods of six, 12 or 18 months, but that can be extended by the DHS secretary. But under the administration of President Donald Trump, temporary protections like TPS have been pared back, as part of a broader push to limit immigration to the US. 'This decision restores integrity in our immigration system and ensures that Temporary Protective Status is actually temporary,' a DHS spokesperson said in Friday's statement. Haiti first received the TPS designation in 2010, when a devastating earthquake killed more than 200,000 people and left 1.5 million homeless – more than a 10th of the population. The designation has been routinely extended and expanded, particularly as gang violence and political instability worsened in recent years. Since his first term in office, from 2017 to 2021, President Trump has sought to strip TPS for Haitians, even as conditions have deteriorated in the Caribbean island nation. Today, Haiti faces a protracted humanitarian crisis, with more than 5,600 people killed by gangs last year and 1.3 million displaced. Armed groups now control up to 90 percent of the capital, and food, water and medical services are extremely difficult to come by. The US Department of State has placed a travel advisory on Haiti, listing it as a Level 4 country, the highest warning level. Level 4 signifies 'do not travel', as there are life-threatening conditions in the designated area. The State Department advises Americans to avoid Haiti 'due to kidnapping, crime, civil unrest, and limited health care'. The DHS statement, however, notes that Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem 'determined that, overall, country conditions have improved to the point where Haitians can return home in safety'. 'She further determined that permitting Haitian nationals to remain temporarily in the United States is contrary to the national interest of the United States,' the statement adds. An estimated 260,000 Haitians have TPS. The statement advises that those affected can either pursue another immigration status or return home. But Haitians are not the only group to face the revocation of their temporary immigration status. In early May, the Supreme Court cleared the way for the Trump administration to revoke TPS for 350,000 Venezuelans living in the US. Later in the month, the high court also ruled that Trump can revoke the two-year 'humanitarian parole' that allowed 530,000 people to legally remain and work in the US. The affected humanitarian parole recipients included Cubans, Haitians, Venezuelans and Nicaraguans, all of whom face instability and political repression in their home countries. Trump officials have also moved to end TPS for 7,600 Cameroonians and 14,600 Afghans. But critics note that fighting continues to rage in Cameroon, and in Afghanistan, the Taliban government is accused of perpetrating widespread human rights abuses.
Yahoo
17 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
Al Jazeera
21 hours ago
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
US sets deadline to end Temporary Protected Status for Haitian immigrants
The United States government has announced it will terminate special protections for Haitian immigrants. In a statement issued Friday, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said that, starting on September 2, Haitians would no longer be able to remain in the country under the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designation. TPS allows nationals from countries facing conflict, natural disaster or other extraordinary circumstances to temporarily remain in the US. It also gives them the right to work and travel. The designation is typically made for periods of six, 12 or 18 months, but that can be extended by the DHS secretary. But under the administration of President Donald Trump, temporary protections like TPS have been pared back, as part of a broader push to limit immigration to the US. 'This decision restores integrity in our immigration system and ensures that Temporary Protective Status is actually temporary,' a DHS spokesperson said in Friday's statement. Haiti first received the TPS designation in 2010, when a devastating earthquake killed more than 200,000 people and left 1.5 million homeless – more than a 10th of the population. The designation has been routinely extended and expanded, particularly as gang violence and political instability worsened in recent years. Since his first term in office, from 2017 to 2021, President Trump has sought to strip TPS for Haitians, even as conditions have deteriorated in the Caribbean island nation. Today, Haiti faces a protracted humanitarian crisis, with more than 5,600 people killed by gangs last year and 1.3 million displaced. Armed groups now control up to 90 percent of the capital, and food, water and medical services are extremely difficult to come by. The US Department of State has placed a travel advisory on Haiti, listing it as a Level 4 country, the highest warning level. Level 4 signifies 'do not travel', as there are life-threatening conditions in the designated area. The State Department advises Americans to avoid Haiti 'due to kidnapping, crime, civil unrest, and limited health care'. The DHS statement, however, notes that Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem 'determined that, overall, country conditions have improved to the point where Haitians can return home in safety'. 'She further determined that permitting Haitian nationals to remain temporarily in the United States is contrary to the national interest of the United States,' the statement adds. An estimated 260,000 Haitians have TPS. The statement advises that those affected can either pursue another immigration status or return home. But Haitians are not the only group to face the revocation of their temporary immigration status. In early May, the Supreme Court cleared the way for the Trump administration to revoke TPS for 350,000 Venezuelans living in the US. Later in the month, the high court also ruled that Trump can revoke the two-year 'humanitarian parole' that allowed 530,000 people to legally remain and work in the US. The affected humanitarian parole recipients included Cubans, Haitians, Venezuelans and Nicaraguans, all of whom face instability and political repression in their home countries. Trump officials have also moved to end TPS for 7,600 Cameroonians and 14,600 Afghans. But critics note that fighting continues to rage in Cameroon, and in Afghanistan, the Taliban government is accused of perpetrating widespread human rights abuses.
CBS News
a day ago
- Politics
- CBS News
U.S. to revoke immigration status of Haitian migrants in September
The Trump administration will revoke the legal status and work permits of hundreds of thousands of Haitian migrants in early September, arguing that conditions in Haiti have sufficiently improved for them to return home, the Department of Homeland Security announced Friday. The department said it would terminate Haiti's longstanding Temporary Protected Status program, which has allowed immigrants from the crisis-stricken Caribbean nation to live and work in the U.S. legally since 2010, following the devastating earthquake that year. If they don't qualify for another legal immigration status — like asylum or a green card — those who lose their TPS protections will become ineligible to work in the U.S. legally and eligible to be arrested and deported by federal immigration authorities. The Trump administration on Friday urged Haitians with TPS to voluntarily leave the U.S. by using a smartphone app that officials have converted into a system to facilitate self-deportations. The administration has warned immigrants in the U.S. illegally that if they don't self-deport, they will be found, arrested and forcibly deported. "This decision restores integrity in our immigration system and ensures that Temporary Protective Status is actually temporary," DHS said in a statement. "The environmental situation in Haiti has improved enough that it is safe for Haitian citizens to return home." As of late last year, more than a quarter of a million Haitians — 260,790 — had been approved for TPS, according to government data compiled by Congress' research unit. DHS said their TPS protections would lapse on Sept. 2. Created by Congress in 1990, TPS allows the federal government to offer migrants work permits and a reprieve from deportation if their home countries are engulfed in a crisis, such as a war or an environmental disaster. Despite the Trump administration's assertions on Friday, the U.S. government has described Haiti as a country with deep political instability and plagued by gang violence and widespread poverty. In fact, the State Department instructs Americans not to visit Haiti in a Level 4 travel advisory, warning them about the threat of "robbery, carjackings, sexual assault, and kidnappings for ransom." The Biden administration vastly expanded the TPS program for Haitians, allowing many of those who crossed the U.S.-Mexico border — illegally and legally — to qualify for the initiative. It also used TPS at an unprecedented scale to offer legal status to hundreds of thousands migrants from Afghanistan, Cameroon, Venezuela, Ukraine and other nations. But President Trump's administration has sought to severely curtail TPS programs, as part of its efforts to oversee the largest deportation effort in American history. Since Mr. Trump took office, officials have announced plans to terminate TPS protections for Afghans, Cameronians and Venezuelans. Last month, the Supreme Court allowed the administration to end the work permits and deportation protections of hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans TPS recipients.
Fox News
a day ago
- Politics
- Fox News
Trump admin ends temporary protected status for Haitian migrants currently in the US
Print Close By Preston Mizell Published June 27, 2025 EXCLUSIVE: The Trump administration's Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is ending temporary protection status (TPS) for roughly 520,000 Haitians currently residing in the US. The TPS designations for the country will expire on August 3, 2025, and the termination will be effective on Tuesday, September 2, 2025. "This decision restores integrity in our immigration system and ensures that Temporary Protective Status is actually temporary," said a DHS spokesperson. "The environmental situation in Haiti has improved enough that it is safe for Haitian citizens to return home. We encourage these individuals to take advantage of the Department's resources in returning to Haiti, which can be arranged through the CBP Home app. Haitian nationals may pursue lawful status through other immigration benefit requests, if eligible." KRISTI NOEM 'CAN'T BELIEVE' DEMOCRATS WILL 'DEFEND' ACTIONS AGAINST ICE, LAW ENFORCEMENT Noem made the decision to revoke TPS status after reviewing a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) report which showed that Haiti no longer meets the statutory requirements that grant foreign residents the ability to obtain temporary protected status. Sources at DHS tell Fox they are encouraging Haitians in the US under TPS to use the CBP Home app to secure a safe departure with a complimentary plane ticket and a $1,000 exit bonus. SUPREME COURT ALLOWS TRUMP ADMIN TO MOVE ON ENDING LEGAL PROTECTIONS FOR SOME VENEZUELAN MIGRANTS TPS was created by Congress in the Immigration Act of 1990 with the intention of allowing residents of countries who faced natural disasters, war, or other unsafe, extraordinary conditions to designate refuge in the U.S. The program can be extended in increments of 18-month periods. The Trump administration has made a hard push to roll back TPS designations to fulfill a campaign promise to strengthen the border and deport many of the illegal migrants who crossed the border during the Biden administration. President Joe Biden granted TPS status to Venezuelans in 2021 and again just before he left office in January 2025, a designation to the South American nation from April 3, 2025, to Oct. 2, 2026. It's estimated the protection would have applied to roughly 300,000 Venezuelan nationals had the Trump Administration not rolled back the decision. TRUMP IMMIGRATION ADVISOR TARGETS CRIMINALS EXPLOITING UNACCOMPANIED MINORS WHO ENTERED US UNDER BIDEN U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) spokesperson Matthew Tragesser confirmed to Fox News Digital that stripping the TPS status for Haitians would affect roughly 520,000 migrants in the US. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Print Close URL
