The Department of Homeland Security says the gang-riddled Caribbean country is safe enough for Haitians to return.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, Presi …
