Department of Homeland Security Citing the country’s ongoing humanitarian crisis, the government announced Friday that it was protecting an additional 300,000 Haitians from deportation and granting them work permits.
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said he is extending and redesignating Haiti for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for 18 months, through February 2026. The redesignation will allow Haitian immigrants, including those living in the country illegally, to apply for protection and work authorization for those not covered by the prior designations.
To be eligible, Haitians must be in the U.S. by June 3. DHS estimates this will allow about 309,000 additional citizens to apply for TPS, in addition to those already protected.
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas delivers a speech on Capitol Hill on Wednesday, April 10. (AP/Mark Schiefelbein)
TPS provides protection to citizens in countries found to be unsafe for them and is based on three grounds: ongoing armed conflict, environmental disasters or “exceptional and temporary circumstances.”
“Many areas of Haiti are experiencing violence or insecurity, and many areas have limited access to safety, healthcare, food, and water. Haiti is particularly prone to flooding and landslides, and hurricanes, floods, and earthquakes frequently cause significant damage. These overlapping humanitarian challenges have resulted in ongoing urgent humanitarian needs,” DHS said in a release.
“We are providing this humanitarian relief to Haitians already in the United States, given the conditions prevailing in their country, until June 3, 2024,” Mayorkas said in a statement. “By doing so, we are realizing the original intent of the TPS law and our obligation to carry it out.”
There are currently 16 countries designated for TPS, including Venezuela, Ukraine, Honduras, El Salvador and Afghanistan. Mayorkas re-designated Venezuela last year, a move that is expected to protect more than 470,000 citizens.
Use of TPS This has repeatedly prompted opposition from Republicans and immigration hawks, who say that the use of TPS promotes illegal immigration from those countries, with people arriving in anticipation of the next re-enrollment. When the Venezuelan TPS re-enrollment was announced, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) sources told Fox News that the decision would exacerbate the problem at the border and attract even more Venezuelan migrants due to the “allure” factor of being granted TPS status and the ability to obtain work permission.
Unaccompanied minors walk toward US Border Patrol vehicles after crossing the border from Mexico in El Paso, Texas, on May 9, 2023. The number of immigrants is expected to increase as the US government’s Covid-era Title 42 policy, which allowed expedited expulsion of irregular migrants who entered the country over the past three years, ends. (John Moore/Getty Images)
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There were 163,781 encounters of Haitians at the border in fiscal year 2023, and that number has already been surpassed in fiscal year 2024. The Biden administration has also allowed Haitians to fly into the U.S. for parole as part of the parole processes for Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela (CHNV). This program allows up to 30,000 citizens to enter the country each month.
The US has been facing a crisis at the southern border for three years, which has become a top political issue ahead of the November election.
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Republicans have blamed the crisis on border policies implemented by the Biden administration, which has blamed Republican obstruction and said it needs more money and reforms from Congress.
It has taken a number of steps to deal with the crisis, including new limits on asylum applications and a “system of parole” for some spouses of US citizens. The administration has noted that encounters have dropped by 40% since the border closures were announced, but Biden faced criticism from former President Trump on Thursday over his handling of the crisis.
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“He’s the one who killed people bad boundary “That involves millions of deaths and our citizens are killed as well when they come in. We’re living in a rat nest right now,” Trump said at Thursday’s debate.
