/
RSS Feed
A deportation flight carrying dozens of Haitians from the United States landed in Cap-Haïtien, northern Haiti, on Tuesday. The plane, which departed from Miami, carried 46 passengers, including 25 individuals convicted of crimes, according to a Haitian government source.
Mass Deportations as Protections End
The deportations follow the Trump administration’s decision to end protections that previously shielded roughly half a million Haitians from removal, leaving many without work permits and at risk of deportation. Many of those on Tuesday’s flight had entered the U.S. illegally or were awaiting approval for Temporary Protected Status (TPS), a program that grants temporary legal stay but does not provide a pathway to citizenship.
Haitians Caught in Immigration Shifts
Makenson Estilice, one of the deportees, had been living in Brazil since 2013 before traveling to the U.S. via Mexico in hopes of securing TPS under President Biden. However, in February, the Trump administration announced an end to the program, part of a broader effort to fulfill campaign promises on mass deportations and to scale back TPS, which had been significantly expanded under Biden to cover around one million immigrants.
Calls to Halt Deportations Amid Haiti’s Crisis
Human rights and migrant advocacy groups have strongly condemned the deportations, urging the U.S. to halt flights to Haiti amid the country’s worsening security situation. Critics argue that deporting people to Haiti at this time is tantamount to “knowingly condemning the most vulnerable, who came to us in their time of need, to imminent danger.”
With Haiti facing escalating violence, political instability, and a humanitarian crisis, the deportations have sparked renewed debate over the U.S. government’s immigration policies and its treatment of vulnerable asylum seekers.
