On Thursday, February 20, 2025, Secretary of State Kristi Noem announced the reversal of the Biden administration’s June 2024 decision to extend Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haiti by 18 months until February 3rd, 2026 https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-42655-haiti-flash-good-news-extension-and-redesignation-of-haiti-for-tps-confirmed.html . As part of this decision, TPS will end for Haiti (unless changed) on August 3rd, 2025, (6 months less) on that date, nearly 520,000 Haitians without status will find themselves in a precarious situation, exposed to a risk of expulsion...

"We are returning integrity to the TPS system, which has been abused and exploited by illegal aliens for decades. President Trump and Secretary Noem are returning TPS to its original status: temporary," Secretary of State Noem said in a statement.

Let's recall that the TPS is a type of immigration status available to nationals of certain designated countries that allows aliens, even if they entered the country illegally, the ability to reside temporarily in the U.S. The Secretary of Homeland Security is authorized to designate a foreign country for TPS if there is an ongoing armed conflict, an environmental disaster, or extraordinary and temporary conditions.

"For decades the TPS system has been exploited and abused. For example, Haiti has been designated for TPS since 2010. The data shows each extension of the country's TPS designation allowed more Haitian nationals, even those who entered the U.S. illegally, to qualify for legal protected status.

In May of 2011, DHS estimated that 57,000 Haitians were eligible to register for TPS. In August 2021, DHS estimated that 155,000 Haitians were eligible under the new designation. And by July 2024, the estimate skyrocketed to 520,694," one read in the statement.

It remains to be seen whether Secretary of State Noem will decide to permanently end the TPS program for Haitians, which is likely given Trump’s positions expressed during his election campaign…

Should be noted that on January 29, 2025, Secretary Noem had also canceled the TPS extension for nearly 600,000 Venezuelans whose deadline now comes in April 2025...

SL/ HaïitiLibre