The Department of Homeland Security says the gang-covered Caribbean country is safe enough for Haitians to return.
The US government has announced that it will end special protections for Haitian immigrants.
In a statement issued Friday, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said starting September 2, Haitians will no longer be able to remain in the country under the designation of a Temporary Protection Status (TPS).
The TPS allows citizens of countries facing conflict, natural disasters, or other unusual circumstances to temporarily remain in the United States. It also gives them the right to work and travel.
Designations are usually made over a period of 6, 12, or 18 months, but that may be extended by the DHS Secretary.
However, temporary protections like the TPS have been cut under President Donald Trump’s administration as part of a broader push to limit immigration to the US.
“This decision restores the integrity of the immigration system and ensures that the temporary protection status is indeed temporary,” a DHS spokesperson said in a statement Friday.
Haiti received its first TPS designation in 2010, when a catastrophic earthquake killed more than 200,000 people, leaving 1.5 million homeless people and more than a tenth of the population. This designation has been expanded and expanded on a daily basis, especially as gang violence and political instability have worsened in recent years.
Since his first term in office from 2017 to 2021, President Trump has tried to strip the TP for Haitians, even if conditions worsen in the Caribbean island nation.
Today, Haiti is facing a long-term humanitarian crisis, with over 5,600 people killed and 1.3 million people displaced last year by gangs. The armed groups currently manage up to 90% of the capital, making it extremely difficult to get food, water and medical services.
The US State Department has made travel advisories to Haiti, listing it as the highest warning level, Level 4 countries.
Level 4 means “Do not travel” as there are life-threatening conditions in the designated area. The State Department advises Americans to avoid Haiti “datings, crime, civil unrest, limited health care.”
However, a statement from the DHS stated that Homeland Security Secretary Christie Noem “deems have determined that it has been improved to a point where Haitians can safely return home.”
“She further determined that allowing Haitians to stay in the United States temporarily is against the US interests,” the statement added.
An estimated 260,000 Haitians have a TP. The statement advises that affected people can pursue another immigrant status or return home.
However, Haitians are not the only group facing temporary revocation of immigration status.
In early May, the Supreme Court made clear the way for the Trump administration to cancel the TP for the 350,000 Venezuelans living in the United States.
Later in the month, the High Court also ruled that it could revoke a two-year “humanitarian parole” that allowed Trump to remain legally and work in the United States. Recipients of affected humanitarian parolees include Cubans, Haitians, Venezuelans and Nicaraguans, all facing instability and political crackdown in their home countries.
Trump officials have also moved to end the TPS for 7,600 Cameroonians and 14,600 Afghans. However, critics point out that the fight in Cameroon continues, and in Afghanistan the Taliban government has been accused of committing widespread human rights abuse.
