NEW YORK, CMC – Caribbean immigration advocates on Friday denounced the termination of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haiti amid the French-speaking Caribbean country’s escalating humanitarian catastrophe.
US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem on Friday announced the termination of TPS, leaving over 500,000 Haitians without work permits and facing deportation.
The temporary parole programme will expire for Haitians on August 3, and the termination will take effect on Tuesday, September 2.
“The Trump administration’s decision to end TPS for Haiti is a cruel attack on Haitian New Yorkers and is another example of this administration’s ongoing efforts to destabilize immigrant communities and tear families apart,” Murad Awawdeh, president and CEO of the New York Immigration Coalition (NYIC), an umbrella policy and advocacy organization that represents over 200 immigrant and refugee rights groups throughout New York, told the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC).
With more than 125,000 Haitians living in New York, Awawdeh said Trump’s move threatens the futures of Haitian New Yorkers who have lived, worked, raised families, and built their lives in the state.
“Haitians are our family members, neighbors, our healthcare workers, our business owners–people who are vital to the social and economic fabric of New York,” he said. “Forcibly removing them and sending them back to the instability and violence they once fled is brutal and inhumane.”
Awawdeh said the Trump administration has no justifiable reason to put Haitian New Yorkers on a fast track to deportation other than “politics and cruelty”, calling on the New York Congressional Delegation and Congress to” act now and provide permanent protections for all TPS holders and stand against Trump’s cruel policies.”
The San Diego, California-based Haitian Bridge Alliance (HBA) also condemned TPS termination for more than 521,000 Haitian nationals living in the United States,
“This catastrophic decision will not only separate families but force thousands to return to a country the US government itself has deemed unsafe,” HBA Executive Director Guerline Jozef told CMC, noting that TPS was first granted to Haitians following the 2010 earthquake, which killed over 220,000 people and destroyed critical infrastructure.
Since then, Jozef said Haiti has been rocked by a series of cascading crises—including the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in 2021, rampant gang violence, fuel and food insecurity, and the collapse of democratic governance.
According to the United Nations’ International Organization for Migration (IOM), as of May 2025, over 1.3 million people in Haiti are internally displaced, many fleeing armed gangs that now control over 80 percent of the capital, Port-au-Prince.
Jozef said the US State Department continues to issue a Level 4 “Do Not Travel” warning for Haiti, citing widespread kidnappings, violent crime, and near-total collapse of emergency services.
“This is not just cruel—it’s state-sanctioned endangerment,” she said, referring to the termination of TPS for Haiti. “Sending back hundreds of thousands of people to a country overrun by gangs, where hospitals are shuttered and food is scarce, is a direct assault on Black immigrant communities. It’s not about policy. It’s about dehumanization.”
Jozef said Trump’s termination of TPS for Haiti is “the latest in a long line of anti-Black, anti-immigrant actions, including the mass expulsions of Haitian migrants under Title 42 during his first administration and the continued criminalization of Black asylum seekers while importing White South Africans under the guise of a genocide in South Africa that has not been substantiated.”
She said the Trump administration has ignored both internal DHS reports and international human rights assessments warning against deportations to Haiti.
Jozef said HBA demands that the US Congress provide permanent protections for TPS holders, the international community condemn forced deportations to conflict zones, and Trump rescind his decision to terminate TPS for Haiti.
“Ending TPS for Haitians is not just an attack on our communities — it’s a direct blow to the American economy,” she said. “Haitian TPS holders are deeply woven into the fabric of the US workforce, contributing billions in taxes, essential labor in healthcare, construction, and service sectors.
“By tearing them away, this administration threatens local economies, disrupts industries already facing worker shortages, and undermines the very values of resilience and hard work that sustain this country,” Jozef added.
Noem said on Friday that the decision to terminate TPS for Haiti “restores integrity in our immigration system and ensures that Temporary Protective Status is temporary.”
A DHS spokesperson said in a statement that “the environmental situation in Haiti has improved enough that it is safe for Haitian citizens to return home.
“We encourage these individuals to take advantage of the department’s resources in returning to Haiti, which can be arranged through the CBP (Customs and Border Protection agency) Home app,” the unidentified spokesperson said. “Haitian nationals may pursue lawful status through other immigration benefit requests, if eligible.”
After conferring with interagency partners, the spokesperson said, “Noem determined that conditions in Haiti no longer meet the TPS statutory requirements.
“The Secretary’s decision was based on a US Citizenship and Immigration Services review of the conditions in Haiti and consultation with the Department of State,” the spokesperson said. “The Secretary determined that, overall, country conditions have improved to the point where Haitians can return home in safety.”
Noem further determined that permitting Haitian nationals to remain temporarily in the United States is “contrary to the national interest of the United States,” according to the spokesperson.
“Haitian nationals returning home are encouraged to use the US Customs and Border Protection Home app to report their departure from the United States,” the spokesperson said.
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