The Department of Homeland Security announced Friday that it would exempt an additional 300,000 Haitians from deportation and issue them work permits, citing the ongoing humanitarian crisis in the country.
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said he would redesignate Haiti’s Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for an 18-month extension until February 2026. The redesignation will allow Haitian migrants (including those in the country illegally) not covered under the previous designation to apply for protection and work authorization.
To be eligible, Haitians must have been in the U.S. as of June 3. The Department of Homeland Security projects that an estimated 309,000 nationals will be allowed to apply for TPS, in addition to those already protected.
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Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas speaks at the Capitol on Wednesday, April 10. (AP/Mark Schiefelbein)
TPS provides protection to nationals of countries deemed unsafe to return to, based on three grounds: ongoing armed conflict, environmental disaster, or “extraordinary and temporary circumstances.”
“Several parts of Haiti continue to experience violence and instability, limiting many areas’ access to safety, health care, food, and water. Haiti is particularly vulnerable to flooding and landslides and frequently experiences devastating storms, floods, and earthquakes. These overlapping humanitarian challenges result in ongoing urgent humanitarian needs,” the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement.
“We are providing humanitarian assistance to Haitians already in the United States, taking into account the situation in their home country as of June 3, 2024,” Mayorkas said in a statement. “In doing so, we are fulfilling the core objectives of the TPS Act and our obligation to fulfill them.”
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Currently, 16 countries are covered by TPS, including Venezuela, Ukraine, Honduras, El Salvador, and Afghanistan. Mayorkas redesignated Venezuela last year, which is believed to have protected more than 470,000 nationals.
The use of TPS has repeatedly drawn backlash from Republicans and immigration hard-liners, who argue that it encourages illegal migration from these countries, with people coming in hopes of another redesignation. When Venezuela’s TPS redesignation was announced, a Customs and Border Protection (CBP) source told Fox News that the decision would only exacerbate problems at the border and attract even more Venezuelan migrants due to the “pull” factors of being granted TPS status and the ability to obtain work authorization.
An unaccompanied minor walks toward a U.S. Border Patrol vehicle after crossing the border from Mexico, in El Paso, Texas, May 9, 2023. A surge in migrants is expected following the end of the U.S. government’s COVID-era Title 42 policy, which for the past three years has allowed for the quick expulsion of undocumented immigrants entering the United States. (John Moore/Getty Images)
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In fiscal year 2023, 163,781 Haitian nationals were encountered at the border, a number that has already been exceeded in fiscal year 2024. The Biden administration also allowed Haitians to fly into the United States to receive parole as part of the parole process for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans (CHNVs), a program that allows 30,000 nationals to enter the United States each month.
The US is facing a three-year crisis on its southern border, which has become a major political issue ahead of the November elections.
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Republicans have blamed the crisis on border policies implemented by the Biden administration, while the Biden administration has blamed Republican obstruction and said more funding and reforms are needed from Congress.
The government has taken a range of measures to address the crisis, including new limits on asylum applications and “parole” for some spouses of U.S. citizens. The administration has noted that visits with migrants have fallen by 40% since the restrictions were announced, but Biden on Thursday drew rebuke from former President Trump over his response to the crisis.
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“He’s the man responsible for mismanagement of the border that has cost hundreds of thousands of lives and killed Americans who came into the country. We’re in a corner right now,” Trump said during Thursday’s debate.
