The US government will end the temporary protected status (TPS) for 500,000 Haitians living in the country in August, the Department of Homeland Security said on Thursday.
This comes despite deteriorating conditions in the Caribbean country, with gangs controlling about 85% of the capital and sexual violence against children increasing by 1,000% last year, according to the United Nations.
TPS is granted to nationals of designated countries facing unsafe conditions, such as armed conflict or environmental disasters.
US President Donald Trump has moved to overhaul parts of the US immigration system since returning to office and promised “mass deportations” and arrests.
Haitians have had Temporary Protected Status (TPS) since 2010, but it will officially end on August 3, 2025.
When this happens, they will no longer have work permits and could face deportation.
On February 1, the Trump administration also decided to end TPS for Venezuelans in the U.S., but this decision is being challenged in court by the National TPS Alliance.
“For decades the TPS system has been exploited and abused,” the Department for Homeland Security said in a statement on Thursday.
The system has allowed Haitians who “entered the US illegally, to qualify for legal protected status,” it added.
The decision to end TPS for Haitians has faced strong criticism.
Last year, over 5,600 people in Haiti were killed due to gang violence. The UN has reported that many families are living in unsafe shelters and struggling with health risks.
Democratic congresswoman Ayanna Pressley called the decision “shameful,” saying it puts people in danger despite the extreme violence in Haiti. She argued that Haitians who have lived in the U.S. for 15 years now face deportation simply because of their nationality.
During his campaign, Trump falsely claimed that Haitian immigrants were eating pets in an Ohio city.
However, local officials told BBC Verify that no real evidence supports this claim.Then US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby called the claim a “conspiracy theory… based on an element of racism”.