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Haitians in NYC reel as Trump ends deportation relief for immigrants from the island nation
By
Arya Sundaram
Published Feb 21, 2025
Modified Feb 21, 2025
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Eduardo MunozAlvarez/VIEWpress/Corbis via Getty Images
By
Arya Sundaram
Published Feb 21, 2025
Modified Feb 21, 2025
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Members of New York City's Haitian community were stunned by news that the Trump administration is ending deportation protections that could force the return of thousands to the strife-torn island nation, the head of a local aid group said.
“ People are in shock in our community,” Elsie Saint Louis, the director of the local group Haitian Americans United for Progress, said on Friday. “They've been fearful for the future.”
The administration on Thursday said it will end Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, for an estimated 520,000 Haitians in the United States who lack permanent legal immigration status. A DHS spokesperson said in a statement that the Trump administration is “returning TPS to its original status: temporary.”
The change comes as Haiti continues to reel from environmental disasters, gang violence, killings, rapes and kidnappings, all of which have deepened poverty and economic crisis. The Biden administration, in extending TPS for 300,000 Haitians in the United States last June, said, "These overlapping humanitarian challenges have resulted in ongoing urgent humanitarian needs.”
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced the protection would end Aug. 3, barring any extension. TPS grants immigration protections and work permits to those from countries experiencing war, environmental disaster, or other extraordinary conditions.
The Biden administration had extended the protections until Feb. 3, 2026.
New York City is home to the United States' second-largest Haitian immigrant population, following Miami. About 163,000 Haitian immigrants live in the New York City metropolitan area, accounting for nearly a quarter of the nearly 731,000 Haitian immigrants living across the United States, according to a 2023 report from the Migration Policy Institute.
Saint Louis said her group has received “nonstop” phone calls and in-person requests for assistance. Her group provides social services, education, and legal help to Haitian immigrants across New York City.
Most Haitian New Yorkers live in Brooklyn, especially in Flatbush, East Flatbush and Prospect Lefferts Gardens, according to a 2013 Department of City Planning report. The Little Haiti neighborhood straddles Flatbush and East Flatbush.
A DHS spokesperson said in a statement that the TPS system has been "abused and exploited" for decades, and the decision to end the protections fits into Trump's larger immigration agenda.
The TPS announcement comes after Trump repeated baseless claims on the 2024 campaign trail that Haitian migrants in Springfield, Ohio, were eating domestic pets.
It also follows the new administration's decision earlier this month to end TPS for more than 300,000 Venezuelans. Immigrant rights groups, CASA and Make the Road New York, announced a federal lawsuit Thursday calling for the reversal of that decision.
The Trump administration previously tried to end TPS for Haitian immigrants during his first term, in 2017; however, a federal district judge blocked that decision.
This article was updated with additional information.
Haiti on the Line
WNYC will host a special radio program at 7 p.m. Monday called "Haiti on the Line." The special broadcast will focus on three cities — New York, Boston and Miami — which are home to the largest Haitian populations in the country. The show, hosted by WNYC's Brian Lehrer, will feature experts in both the United States and Haiti, and they'll take calls about the situation in that country and for immigrants here. For more information or to record a message that could be played on the show, click here.
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Race And Justice Unit
Asylum Seekers
Arya Sundaram
Arya is a reporter covering race and justice. Got a tip? Email: [email protected] or reach Arya on Signal at 512-650-8767.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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