WASHINGTON (States Newsroom) — U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem Thursday cut protections for hundreds of thousands of Haitian immigrants, leaving them vulnerable to deportations by August.
“We are returning integrity to the TPS system, which has been abused and exploited by illegal aliens for decades,” a DHS official said in a statement. “President Trump and Secretary Noem are returning TPS to its original status: temporary.”
It’s the second time Noem has revoked an extension of Temporary Protected Status renewed under the Biden administration. TPS allows people from countries deemed too dangerous to return to their home due to violence, natural disasters or other unstable circumstances to obtain U.S. work permits and protection from deportation.
More than 300,000 Haitians have TPS, which stems from the 2008 earthquake in Haiti, and their extension was granted until February 2026, but now they will only have protections until August. It’s unlikely that Noem will renew the status.
During the presidential campaign, President Donald Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance spread false rumors about Haitians in Springfield, Ohio, eating residents’ pets. Trump referred to those Haitians with TPS as being in the country without legal authorization, despite their legal status.
Noem has often criticized the use of TPS and referred to the program as being “abused and manipulated.” She recently revoked the Biden administration’s TPS extension for roughly 600,000 Venezuelans and declined to renew TPS protections for a portion of that group – about 350,000 Venezuelans – that is set to expire in April.
A lawsuit was filed Thursday by a TPS organization challenging the Trump administration’s decision to revoke renewals for Venezuelans on TPS and the decision to not renew TPS for the group of 350,000 Venezuelans that is set to expire this spring.
There are roughly 1 million people with TPS status.
It’s unclear if Noem will revoke the other extensions granted under the Biden administration in January.
The Biden administration extended TPS for another 18 months for 103,000 Ukrainiansand 1,900 Sudanese until October 2026. The Biden administration also extended TPS for 232,000 Salvadorians until September 2026.
The Department of Homeland Security did not respond to States Newsroom’s request for comment.
This is not the first time the Trump administration has tried to end TPS for Haiti. During the first Trump administration, the president tried to end TPS status for Haiti, Nicaragua, El Salvador and Sudan, but in 2018 was ultimately stymied by the courts.
