The US government terminates Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for over 521,000 Haitians despite Haiti’s escalating violence and humanitarian collapse, raising urgent questions about the safety of forced returns.

Related:

Haiti Faces Record Displacement as 1.3 Million Flee Gang Violence

On June 27, 2025, the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced the termination of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haitian nationals effective August 3, 2025. This decision affects more than 521,000 Haitians living legally in the US under TPS, a program initially granted after the devastating 2010 earthquake and extended by the Biden administration until 2026. The DHS claims that conditions in Haiti have improved sufficiently to allow safe repatriation.

This move represents a harsh and unjust policy that disregards the ongoing crisis in Haiti. Despite official US statements, Haiti remains engulfed in one of the worst political and humanitarian emergencies in decades. Armed gangs control large swaths of territory, the healthcare system is in collapse, and rampant violence continues unabated.

According to United Nations data, gang violence has displaced a record 1.3 million Haitians internally, and between January and May 2025 alone, at least 2,680 people,including 54 children,were murdered. These figures starkly contradict the US government’s claim that Haiti is now “safe” for returnees.

The termination of TPS for Haitians fits into a broader pattern of US imperialist migration policy aimed at criminalizing and expelling vulnerable populations. As the DHS spokesperson asserted, the decision “restores the integrity of the immigration system” and ensures TPS remains “truly temporary.” However, this rhetoric masks the reality: the US is abandoning thousands to a violent, unstable country with no viable state protection or social services.

Haïti 🇭🇹 chérie ❤️ 🇺🇸 Président Trump met fin au TPS pour les Haïtiens. plus de 500.000 d'entre eux risquent désormais l'expulsion 🙆‍♀️ @realDonaldTrump
🎥 Me. F Julien @frandleyjulien #AyitiPeupla #Haiti 💙 pic.twitter.com/4VvRo9ZM7Q

— Michele B. Duvalier (@mbduvalier) June 27, 2025

The text reads: Beloved Haiti ,President Trump ends TPS for Haitians. More than 500,000 of them now face the risk of deportation.

Analysts emphasize that this policy is part of a neoliberal agenda that prioritizes border militarization and social exclusion over human rights and international solidarity. It reflects the imperialist logic that deems certain populations disposable, reinforcing systemic inequalities and perpetuating the suffering of marginalized communities.

For the Haitians affected, losing TPS means facing deportation or forced return to a country where survival is precarious at best. The US encourages beneficiaries to seek other legal pathways or to manage their return through official channels, but these options are often inaccessible or unsafe.

Human rights organizations warn that deportations under these conditions violate international principles of non-refoulement and risk exposing returnees to grave harm. The dismantling of TPS protections amid Haiti’s ongoing collapse amounts to a form of structural violence endorsed by US policy.

The US decision to end TPS for Haitians is a call to action. It demands urgent international solidarity with the Haitian people and a firm opposition to imperialist migration policies that deepen human suffering. True justice requires addressing the root causes of Haiti’s crisis,foreign intervention, economic exploitation, and political destabilization,not abandoning its people to violence and despair.

IN THIS ARTICLE