Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem ended the Biden-era temporary protected status (TPS) extension for Haitian migrants.
Haiti’s TPS is set to end on August 3, according to a DHS press release. A 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 release explains.
“For decades the TPS system has been exploited and abused. For example, Haiti has been designated for TPS since 2010,” DHS notes. “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.”
As of May 2011, there were an estimated 57,000 Haitians eligible to register for TPS. In August 2021, there were an estimated 155,000 Haitians eligible for TBS. By 2024, the number surged to 520,694.
Noem said in a statement that Biden and former DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas “attempted to tie the hands of the Trump administration by extending Haiti’s Temporary Protected Status by 18 months—far longer than justified or necessary.”
“We are returning integrity to the TPS system, which has been abused and exploited by illegal aliens for decades,” she declared. “President Trump and Secretary Noem are returning TPS to its original status: temporary.”
Last month, the Trump administration revoked the deportation protections for hundreds of thousands of Venezuelan migrants, terminating the TPS for about 348,000 Venezuelans residing in the United States. DHS cited improvements in Venezuela’s economy, public health, and crime rates as reasons for ending TPS, stating that conditions no longer warrant such protections.
