Washington.- The Administration of US President Donald Trump announced this Friday the end of the Temporary Protection Status (TPS) for Haiti, which is a hard blow for about half a million immigrants from that country who were protected from deportation and were granted a work permit.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said the US Executive made the decision after determining that the environmental situation in Haiti "has improved enough" for Haitian citizens to return home safely.You may be interested in: Army intercepts group of 42 Haitian migrants in Montecristi
The TPS is a protection granted to citizens of a specific country who migrate to the United States due to a natural disaster or armed conflict, allowing them to live and work in the country until the date the U.S. Government deems they can safely return. In the case of Haiti, nearly 521,000 citizens of that country were protected by the protection, after the government of former President Joe Biden (2021-2025) extended the benefit last July until 2026. But DHS Secretary Kristi Noem had already ordered last February to modify the extension period granted by the Democratic administration, thus establishing next August 3 as the date for the termination. The Executive has given beneficiaries a deadline of September 2nd and has encouraged them to use the established resources to self-deport. "We encourage these people to take advantage of the Department's resources to return to Haiti, which can be managed through the CBP Home application," he said. TPS protects from deportation those who are physically present in the U.S. at the time of enactment, have no criminal record, and duly register with DHS. Authorization to travel in emergency cases is also contemplated. Haiti has been designated for TPS several times due to various crises, including the devastating 2010 earthquake and current instability. Haitian immigrants had already suffered a hard blow after the Supreme Court allowed the Trump administration to end temporary legal protection, known as CHNV, which protected more than half a million immigrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela.