WASHINGTON: The Trump administration has cancelled an extension of Temporary Protected Status for more than 500,000 Haitians, the latest move by the president against the people coming from countries facing political unrest or natural disasters.
Former President Joe Biden granted Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to foreign citizens. The status had been extended for Haitians by 18 months, to February 2026, but now it will expire on August 3.
“President Trump and I are returning TPS to its original status: temporary,” Homeland Security chief Kristi Noem said in a statement.
“This is part of President Trump’s promise to rescind policies that were magnets for illegal immigration and inconsistent with the law,” the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) statement said.
The number of Haitians eligible for protection has surged from 57,000 in 2011 to 520,694 in 2024, based on estimates from the US government.
A spokesperson from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) stated that the extension of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) under President Biden was “much longer than justified or necessary.”
In contrast, upon returning to office, President Trump, who during his campaign described immigrants as “poisoning the blood” of the US, swiftly ordered a review of the entire TPS program.
“The Trump administration is ripping stability away from half a million Haitians who have built their lives here -children, workers, parents, and neighbours who have become integral to American communities and contributed to our economy,” said Beatriz Lopez, Co-Executive Director of the Immigration Hub, an organisation working on advancing policy solutions for aspiring citizens.
“This reckless decision doesn’t just harm them; it destabilses the very businesses, families, and local economies that rely on them.”
The Trump administration last month, revoked protection from deportation for more than 600,000 Venezuelans in the United States.
“The people of this country want these dirtbags out. They want their communities to be safe,” Noem said on Fox News in January.
Haiti, which was struck by a catastrophic earthquake in 2010, has endured long-standing political instability and, more recently, escalating violence from armed groups.
Despite the election of Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aime in November and the deployment of a UN-backed security mission to assist Haiti’s national police, violence continues to rage. According to the UN, at least 5,601 people were killed in Haiti due to gang violence in 2024.
