The Trump administration is ending Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for roughly 520,000 Haitians living in the U.S., the Department of Homeland Security announced this week.
TPS protections for Haiti will officially expire on August 3, 2025, with the termination taking effect one month later, on September 2. That means hundreds of thousands of Haitians will be required to leave or seek a different legal status.
"This decision restores integrity in our immigration system and ensures that Temporary Protected Status is actually temporary," a DHS spokesperson said.
Officials say Haiti’s environmental conditions have improved enough to allow for safe return. DHS is encouraging Haitians under TPS to use the CBP Home app to arrange free flights and receive a $1,000 exit bonus.
The decision followed a review of a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) report, which found that Haiti no longer meets the legal conditions necessary to maintain TPS.
The program, created by Congress in 1990, was originally designed to provide temporary refuge to migrants from war-torn or disaster-hit countries. It can be extended in 18-month increments—but not indefinitely.
Trump’s move is part of a broader push to scale back TPS as part of his effort to enforce stricter immigration laws and reverse Biden-era expansions.
President Biden had extended TPS to Venezuelans before leaving office, a move that could have shielded 300,000 migrants. But that designation, like Haiti’s, is now being rolled back by the Trump administration.