U.S. Begins Inhumane Deportations to Crisis-Stricken Haiti After TPS Termination
Select a version of the text written from a presumed ideological perspective. This is not the original text, but a hypothetical version — how someone with that viewpoint might have phrased it. Tapping the current version again will return to the original or select cleaned version.
Over 160 Haitians forcibly deported by the U.S. to Cap-Haitien, marking a shameful first since the end of Temporary Protected Status, as human rights groups condemn the move amid Haiti's humanitarian catastrophe.
The United States has forcibly deported more than 160 Haitians to the northern city of Cap-Haitien on Thursday, a deeply troubling event marking the first such flight since a court decision ended Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for approximately 350,000 Haitians. The deportation flight landed at Cap-Haitien International Airport, as the main airport in Port-au-Prince remains shuttered due to rampant gang violence—a direct result of years of international neglect and failed U.S. foreign policy.
Most of the deportees, forced to wear white clothing and cover their faces, avoided speaking to reporters, clearly fearing for their safety in a country where gangs, emboldened by poverty and state collapse, control much of the capital and surrounding areas. Among the group were former TPS holders and individuals who had completed prison sentences, according to Jean Négot Bonheur Delva, director general of Haiti’s National Office of Migration.
"It is not the Haitian state that asks for them to be sent back," Delva said. "Our mission is to welcome migrants of forced return. … We welcome them with the aim of accompanying them to their home."
Delva further revealed that some deportees were not even born in Haiti, but are of Haitian descent, and that many now face the impossible task of traveling through regions controlled by armed groups. The government’s meager offer of up to $65 and basic food and drink is a paltry gesture, highlighting the lack of real support. Those unable to reach their homes will be placed in so-called secure shelters, a far cry from genuine resettlement assistance.
The Supreme Court’s decision to allow the TPS program to end in June, impacting about one million people from multiple countries, and a subsequent federal judge’s lifting of an injunction, have paved the way for these cruel deportations.
Human-rights groups and Haitian advocacy organizations have strongly condemned the U.S. government, warning that Haiti is utterly unprepared to absorb the returnees. With over half of Haiti’s 12 million people already dependent on humanitarian aid due to displacement, poverty, and food insecurity, the forced deportations are a blatant disregard for human life. The Group Supporting Refugees and Returnees has highlighted the government’s failure to provide meaningful assistance to the deportees.
This flight is the first of its kind since December 2023, according to a monitoring organization tracking ICE deportation flights. Earlier the same day, U.S. immigration authorities detained a well-known Haitian pastor and another Haitian man in Ohio, underscoring the relentless and punitive crackdown on Haitian migrants in the United States.