What Now? The U.S. to Deport 521K Haitians
François-Dominique, Toussaint Louverture, Via Europeana.eu
On February 20, President Donald Trump’s administration revoked the extension of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haitians, just weeks after revoking TPS for Venezuelans. Haitian nationals who have used this opportunity to leverage what the United States offers are now left to decide, with no real direction, what happens next.
The partial vacation of the notice that extended and redesignated Haiti for TPS shortens the protection by six months. The easy-to-read version: Haitians with TPS will no longer be protected against deportation after August 3, 2025. Originally, their status would have expired in February of 2026, with the possibility to renew.
Kristi Noem, Secretary of Homeland Security, emphasizes the “temporary” status of TPS in her decision. "President Trump and I are returning TPS to its original status: temporary."
A Department of Homeland Security representative mirrored the position, “Biden and Mayorkas attempted to tie the hands of the Trump administration by extending Haiti's Temporary Protected Status by 18 months—far longer than justified or necessary.”
In the case of Haiti, UNICEF has reported a 1000% increase in sexual violence against children. Gangs overrun 85% of the nation’s capital, and fair, democratic elections have yet to occur since the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in 2021. Many would argue that it’s been longer. Children are being recruited into gangs. And, a Kenyan UN Peacekeeper was recently killed.
TPS is still necessary.
The representative went on to say, “We are returning integrity to the TPS system, which has been abused and exploited by illegal aliens for decades.” People in the U.S. on TPS are here legally, and using the system for support is not exploitation—it’s the very reason it exists. Needless to say, the use of the word “alien” to reference foreign-born people has issues of morality in and of itself.
TPS has been around since 1990. It was created in response to political turmoil in El Salvador and protects nationals from designated countries from similar turmoil or environmental disasters. Haiti was first designated as a recipient country in 2010.
The emphasis on the word “temporary” now serves as more of a misnomer than an accurate portrayal of the designation. In the Trump administration’s pointed target against foreign-born persons, Haiti seems to exist in the crosshairs of Trump’s need to both whiten the country and undermine Biden’s legacy.
What does Deporting 521,000 Haitian Immigrants Look Like
I spoke with immigration attorney Yasmin Blackburn, and she says she has seen a dramatic uptick in consultations. “My Venezuelan and Haitian clients are scared. There is a plethora of misinformation and often they don’t know where to look.” Blackburn went on to say, “Recipients of TPS are immediately vulnerable to deportation and exclusion from the United States despite their significant contributions to the U.S. and its economy. Depending on how the person entered the U.S., their temporary legal status is at risk without any path forward to legal status.”
The original extension and redesignation of Haitian nationals and those who “last habitually resided in Haiti” gave folks an opportunity to apply or re-register for TPS. Now, the options are unclear.
Haitians have contributed to the United States' landscape for centuries, from supporting the Revolutionary War to founding Chicago. However, the geopolitical relationship has always been one-sided. It's important to understand the nuance of poverty and why there's a vested interest in Haiti being underdeveloped to the benefit of the US. Its proximity allows for U.S. business owners to flourish (see: Citibank; see: post-earthquake relief; see: agricultural reform; see: forced eradication of Creole pigs), while citizens experience the opposite.
Returning recipients of TPS to Haiti right now could look a number of ways.
The current administration has admitted to deporting Venezuelans without due process and without substantive evidence. Most recently, a tattoo was used as a means to deport a Venezuelan man to El Salvador. I wonder if the same will be done to Haitians under the opaque veil of safety. However, Venezuela does not accept deportees, and Haiti does. Currently, the U.S. is paying El Salvador $6 million to house 300 Venezuelan deportees for a year. The payment for the movement of bodies increases the likelihood of guilty verdicts and provides an incentive to continue skirting the law.
What Returning to Haiti Could Mean
Since January 2025, the Trump administration has dismantled the US Agency for International Development (USAID). Haiti is one of their largest recipients, receiving over $300 million in aid.
So, having undermined the rule of law in Haiti to create a pathway to some level of reprieve, only to then return people to a country that is still in the process of development, is a cyclical act. It is a strategic one. And it is an inhumane one.
A U.S. citizen raised in Haiti before moving to the United States in 2005, who requested to remain anonymous, traveled to Haiti for a funeral in February: “Returning to Port-au-Prince was a surreal experience. The roads were empty, people were tense, and everyone avoided being out too late or going to certain areas.” Her texts flooded my inbox. It was clear that she was frustrated, scared, and needed an outlet. “Whenever I had a conversation with a family friend or cousin, they weren’t hopeful that things would change anytime soon. The tension was palpable everywhere we went. It’s not safe to go.”
The six-month subtraction means difficult decisions for Haitians living in the United States. Some are considering going to different countries, and others are resolved to be a part of the problem. One small business owner in Brooklyn’s Little Haiti told me that a member of his kitchen staff put it bluntly: being sent back to Haiti would be like putting a gun in his hand. He would have no choice but to join a gang.
Criminality is being so deeply woven into the conversation about immigration that leading officials and citizens are using the terms synonymously. ICE has admitted to deporting individuals to El Salvador who have no criminal record. Data suggests that foreign-born individuals are less likely to commit crimes than U.S.-born citizens. And the legal system is being exploited to encourage a country that looks as it does in the minds of white supremacists.
The answer to the question of what now is a difficult one. Given the unabashed xenophobia and the particularly anti-Haitian sentiment amongst the current administration, suffice it to say Haitians are on their own.
There are some alternative perspectives. I spoke with Althir*, 26, who is currently on TPS and has been living in the States for two years. He spoke with resolve and confidence when communicating his position, “There are a lot of people who came on the Biden program who are really, really affected. The people who came on the Biden program knew that it was two years. It’s a privilege. There was going to be a change regardless. Things weren’t going to stay this way. There are people who are nervous, people who are really scared to return. But personally, I’m not scared. I’ve always said if I have to go back to Haiti, I will return. I say this because it doesn’t make sense that the new generation continues to ‘sleep’ and do the same thing that previous generations have done.”
Despite having to answer to friends and family for his Trump support, Althir spoke confidently about how that hasn’t changed.
He recalls that when he first landed in the United States, he received fervent messages about his safety-friends asking if he was still alive. Someone had been shot and died in the neighborhood he was from in Haiti. Someone else, his friend’s girlfriend, was shot in the head because “bandits” were casually walking around shooting. Despite what his country seems to offer him at the moment, he states, “We must dream.” He believes it’s his and all Haitians' responsibility to return, stand up for the country, and make Haiti great.
Through a series of executive orders, skirting U.S. values and ignoring the rule of law, the Trump administration has sought to imagine a United States in his image, at the cost of people whose problems were created by the government itself.
*Name changed to protect identity.
Ruth Jean-Marie, philanthropist, strategist, and freelance writer, is a Brooklyn native and daughter of Haitian immigrants. Her most recent project is the development of a coffee table book that delves into the rich tapestry of Haitian narratives. She is a Forbes Lister and an American Express Founder of Change. You can follow her at @lesocialnomad on all social media platforms for her fashion and political sense.