Trump Plans to Terminate Haitian Migrant Protections Early

The Department of Homeland Security said Thursday it will terminate temporary deportation protections for Haitian immigrants several months earlier than expected, exposing more than half a million people to removal as soon as August.

A Temporary Protected Status designation for Haitians was set to expire in February 2026.

The protections are issued when DHS determines that extraordinary conditions like armed conflict or natural disaster make it unsafe for immigrants to return safely to their home country. TPS also allows immigrants to apply for work permits during the duration of a designation, which can last up to 18 months before they must be renewed.

In a Federal Register notice, DHS said it would reduce a 2024 extension of TPS protections for Haitians from 18 to 12 months, with a new termination date of Aug. 3. It said the Biden administration had provided no justification for granting the full duration of protections allowed last year.

Shortening that period “will allow for a fresh review of country conditions in Haiti and of whether such conditions remain both ‘extraordinary’ and ‘temporary,’ whether Haitian may return in safety, and whether it is contrary to the U.S. national interest to continue to permit the Haitian nationals to remain temporarily in the United States,” the notice said.

Immigrant advocates sued DHS this week over an earlier decision to cancel TPS for Venezuelans in the US.

The move rips stability aware from half a million residents who have become integral to their communities and contributed to the US economy, said Beatriz Lopez, co-executive director of the Immigration Hub.

“This reckless decision doesn’t just harm them; it destabilizes the very businesses, families, and local economies that rely on them,” Lopez said in 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.”