Trump administration cuts duration of deportation protections for 521,000 Haitians

[Judi Lynn]

By Reuters
February 20, 2025 4:00 PM CST
Updated 3 days ago

WASHINGTON, Feb 20 (Reuters) - U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Thursday cut the duration of deportation protections and work permits for 521,000 Haitians covered by a temporary program so that they will expire in August, a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said.

The decision reverses a Biden administration move last year to extend the protections through February 2026, the spokesperson said, saying the extension was unjustified. President Donald Trump, a Republican, tried to end most enrollment in the Temporary Protected Status program during his 2017-2021 presidency but was blocked by federal courts.

Noem has already revoked a Biden-era TPS extension for some 600,000 Venezuelans and terminated the status for around half of them, whose protections and access to work permits expire in April.

Trump falsely said during a September 2024 debate with Democrat Kamala Harris that Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, were eating pets, sparking fear of retaliation among Haitians in the city. Trump said a month later that if elected he would revoke TPS for Haitians and deport them.

More:
https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/trump-administration-cuts-duration-haitian-deportation-protections-august-2025-02-20/