The Trump administration has rescinded Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for approximately 520,000 Haitian migrants, a move that will leave them vulnerable to deportation as of August 3, 2025, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced Thursday. The decision reverses an 18-month extension granted under the Biden administration, underscoring President Donald Trump's broader crackdown on immigration.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem formally vacated the extension that was set to keep Haitians under TPS protections until February 2026, arguing that the previous administration had overstepped its authority. "President Trump and Secretary Noem are returning TPS to its original status: temporary," a DHS spokesperson said.
TPS, established in 1990, provides legal protections to nationals of designated countries facing armed conflict, natural disasters, or other extraordinary conditions that make safe return impossible. Haiti was first granted TPS after the devastating 2010 earthquake, with successive administrations extending the status due to continued instability in the Caribbean nation.
Haiti is currently experiencing one of its worst crises in decades. According to the United Nations, armed gangs now control about 85% of the capital, Port-au-Prince, with widespread violence, kidnappings, and a 1,000% increase in reported sexual assaults against children last year. More than 5,600 people were killed in gang-related violence in 2023, and thousands of families are displaced in makeshift shelters with little access to food or medical care.
Despite these conditions, the Trump administration maintains that TPS has been "exploited and abused" as a means of granting long-term legal status to individuals who initially entered the U.S. without authorization. The system has allowed Haitians who "entered the U.S. illegally to qualify for legal protected status," the DHS statement read.
The rollback comes amid Trump's renewed push for mass deportations and stricter immigration enforcement. Earlier this month, the administration announced it would also revoke TPS for Venezuelan nationals, a decision now facing legal challenges from the National TPS Alliance.
The announcement has drawn sharp criticism from Democratic lawmakers and immigrant advocacy groups. Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) called the decision "shameful" given the "unspeakable violence" in Haiti, arguing that Haitians who have lived in the U.S. for over a decade are now at risk of deportation "for no reason other than being Haitian."
Trump has previously made controversial remarks about Haitian immigrants, including an unsubstantiated claim that migrants from Haiti were eating household pets in an Ohio town-an assertion that local officials have dismissed as baseless. Former National Security Council spokesman John Kirby previously labeled such rhetoric "a conspiracy theory... based on an element of racism."
The Biden administration had sought to protect Haitian migrants amid the worsening crisis, but with Trump back in office, immigration advocates fear that Haitian TPS holders could face rapid deportations. The administration has not yet clarified whether deportations will begin immediately after the protections expire in August 2025, but given Trump's prior promises of aggressive immigration enforcement, many expect swift action.
