About 300,000 Haitians already in the United States will now be eligible for temporary legal status, allowing them to remain in the U.S. and work due to unsafe conditions in their home country, the Homeland Security Department announced on Friday. This decision marks a significant expansion of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haitians and has been met with praise from many in the Haitian and immigration advocacy communities.
The TPS designation, created by Congress in 1990, aims to prevent deportations to countries suffering from natural disasters or civil strife. The Homeland Security Secretary can grant temporary protection to different nationalities based on conditions in their home countries. This protection is generally for a designated period, and individuals must apply and prove they qualify for it. The protection also allows them to apply for a work permit.
This expansion will apply to Haitians who were in the United States on June 3 and will last until February 3, 2026. Anyone arriving after June 3 would not qualify. Additionally, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas extended the TPS of an estimated 200,000 Haitians who already had it, also through February 3, 2026. This move represents one of the largest expansions of TPS and highlights a sharp policy contrast on immigration between President Joe Biden and his predecessor, Donald Trump, who sought to end temporary status for many countries, including Haiti.
Haiti has been plagued by violence and instability, with gangs pillaging through the capital, Port-au-Prince, and surrounding areas. Thousands have been killed, raped, or kidnapped, leaving hundreds of thousands homeless and unemployed, exacerbating poverty. Homeland Security noted that several regions in Haiti continue to face violence or insecurity, with limited access to safety, healthcare, food, and water. The country is also prone to flooding, mudslides, and significant damage from storms, flooding, and earthquakes, resulting in ongoing urgent humanitarian needs.
About 200,000 Haitians already have TPS under previous offers, according to the Congressional Research Service. The first offer came after a devastating earthquake in 2010, and the second amid political turmoil in 2021. One of those people is Fanor Massolas, originally from a town in southern Haiti. He qualified for the temporary protection granted in 2010 and now works at the Los Angeles airport. Massolas expressed relief at the protection, despite the stress of wondering whether it will be renewed. He considers the U.S. his home, where he lives, works, and has been able to go to school and learn English. “Every human being, first thing they need is safety wherever they are. I’m in a safe country,” Massolas said. Speaking of Haiti, he added, “Nobody is safe over there.”
With the expansion announced Friday, Homeland Security estimated that an additional 309,000 Haitians will be eligible for the protected status. Nearly 900,000 people from 16 countries are currently registered for TPS, with the largest nationalities hailing from Haiti, Venezuela, El Salvador, Honduras, and Ukraine. The TPS designation gives people legal authority to be in the country and the right to work but does not provide a long-term path to citizenship. They are reliant on the government renewing the status when it expires, giving them little stability. Conservative critics argue that over time, the renewal of the protection status becomes automatic, regardless of changes in country conditions.
Haiti has been a challenging issue for an administration that has sought to discourage illegal crossings, most recently by temporarily suspending asylum processing for people who cross the border illegally. The administration reported that arrests for illegal crossings have fallen more than 40% since asylum was halted. In 2021, about 16,000 predominantly Haitian migrants assembled on the banks of the Rio Grande in the small Texas town of Del Rio, triggering large-scale deportations. Border arrests of Haitians fell sharply, even before January 2023, when the administration introduced an online app, CBP One, required to enter the country legally at land crossings with Mexico. The app allows up to 30,000 people a month from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela to fly to the country for two years if they have financial sponsors.
Haitians were arrested only 142 times for crossing the border illegally from Mexico in May, down from a peak of nearly 18,000 in September 2021. However, some still take the dangerous route by sea. On Wednesday, a group of more than 100 Haitians arrived in a sailboat off the lower Florida Keys. The Haitian Bridge Alliance, like other advocacy groups, applauded the administration for “a crucial move,” while also urging it to halt deportations to Haiti. However, Homeland Security signaled that deportations would continue for those who try entering illegally, stating it “will continue to enforce U.S. laws and policy throughout the Florida Straits and the Caribbean region, as well as at the southwest border.”
The Secretary of Homeland Security may designate a foreign country for TPS due to conditions that temporarily prevent the country’s nationals from returning safely or where the country is unable to handle the return of its nationals adequately. USCIS may grant TPS to eligible nationals of certain countries (or parts of countries) who are already in the United States. Eligible individuals without nationality who last resided in the designated country may also be granted TPS. The Secretary may designate a country for TPS due to ongoing armed conflict, environmental disasters, or other extraordinary and temporary conditions.
During a designated period, individuals who are TPS beneficiaries or found preliminarily eligible for TPS are not removable from the United States, can obtain an employment authorization document (EAD), and may be granted travel authorization. Once granted TPS, an individual cannot be detained by DHS based on their immigration status in the United States. TPS is a temporary benefit that does not lead to lawful permanent resident status or any other immigration status. However, registration for TPS does not prevent individuals from applying for nonimmigrant status, filing for adjustment of status based on an immigrant petition, or applying for any other immigration benefit or protection for which they may be eligible.
To be eligible for TPS, individuals must be nationals of a country designated for TPS or persons without nationality who last habitually resided in the designated country. They must file during the open initial registration or re-registration period or meet the requirements for late initial filing during any extension of their country’s TPS designation. They must have been continuously physically present in the United States since the effective date of the most recent designation date of their country and have been continuously residing in the United States since the date specified for their country.
Individuals may not be eligible for TPS if they have been convicted of any felony or two or more misdemeanors committed in the United States, are found inadmissible as immigrants under applicable grounds, are subject to any of the mandatory bars to asylum, fail to meet the continuous physical presence and continuous residence requirements, fail to meet initial or late initial TPS registration requirements, or fail to re-register for TPS without good cause.
Source: Associated Press
