Trump’s Deportation Machine Targets Half a Million Haitians, Stripping Protections and Igniting Fear

The Trump administration recently announced that they will be canceling an extension of Temporary Protected Status for Haitians, a move previously made by the Biden administration as domestic violence continued to spread in Haiti.

Announced yesterday, the Department of Homeland Security said that the extension placed by the Biden administration until Feb. 2026 will soon come to an end. Protections will now reportedly end on Aug. 3 this year. 

Roughly half a million Haitians are expected to be affected as they will no longer be protected from deportations once it is August. It is unknown how quickly the mass deportations Trump promised will take place. 

Through the Temporary Protected Status designation, Biden provided humanitarian relief for Haitians who arrived in the U.S. on or before June 3, 2024, giving them legal authority to be in the country. The Temporary Protected Status designation does not provide a path to citizenship. 

Following the latest announcement by the Trump administration, leaders of advocacy groups spoke out, emphasizing the severity of sending Haitians back as Haiti continues to struggle from domestic violence.

“The Trump administration is ripping stability away from half a million Haitians who have built their lives here — children, workers, parents, and neighbors who have become integral to American communities and contributed to our economy,” said the co-executive director of the Immigration Hub, Beatriz Lopez, per a statement. “Deporting people to a country plagued by violence and political turmoil is unconscionable, and stripping them of legal status will only force working families into the shadows, inflicting fear in children and their loved ones and leaving industries like healthcare, construction, and hospitality scrambling for workers.”

In Haiti, conditions continue to worsen as internal displacement has reportedly surpassed 1 million people. 

According to the International Organization for Migration, “relentless gang violence” in the country has led to the displacement of 1,041,000 people, marking a steep increase from the 315,000 people who were displaced in December 2023. Citizens are left to live in makeshift shelters as gunmen continue to raid their homes.

Over 5,600 people were also killed last year, according to the U.N., as gangs took over roughly 85% of the country’s capital. The conditions have led to the collapse of necessary services, including health programs, and a rise in food insecurity. 

In conversation with AP News, U.N. high commissioner for human rights, Volker Türk, once again emphasized the need for a pause to deportations back to Haiti. 

“The acute insecurity and resulting human rights crisis in the country simply do not allow for the safe, dignified and sustainable return of Haitians,” said Türk. “And yet, deportations are continuing.”