Malik Miah
TEMPORARY PROTECTED STATUS (TPS) for more than 350,000 Haitians living in the United States was overturned by the government, following a June 25 ruling by the Supreme Court to allow the termination.
On August 6 all legal work permits ended, Mass layoffs will occur, leading to Haitians losing their homes. Overnight thousands of legal residents will become “illegal.”
Haitians waiting for hearings will be forced to wear iron monitors, a reminder of slavery.
Haitians, even children, are seen by the government as “the worst of the worst.”
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) moved quickly to end TPS protections, even while the State Department says it is unsafe for anyone to travel to Haiti.
Trump does not care. His hatred for Black people, whether from Africa or their descendants in other countries of the world, is obvious, as is his goal to “Make America White Again.”
Tens of thousands of Syrians living under TPS will also be impacted.
Origins of TPS
Haitians have been covered under Temporary Protected Status in the United States since January 2010, when Haiti was first designated for TPS following the devastating earthquake that struck the country.
As of 2026, many Haitian TPS beneficiaries had been living in the United States under TPS protections for about the past 16 years. The designation was extended and re-designated multiple times in view of Haiti’s ongoing humanitarian, political and security crises.
Soon after taking office, the Trump administration said it rescinded the Biden administration’s TPS extension because it believed TPS was being used far beyond its intended temporary purpose.
The DHS said it was “returning TPS to its original status: temporary.”
The administration contended that repeated extensions allowed increasing numbers of Haitians to qualify for the program over time and described the system as having been “exploited and abused.”
The DHS also said the move was part of President Trump’s broader effort to reverse immigration policies it viewed as encouraging “illegal” immigration.
Critics of the decision — Haitians, as well as human rights and civil libertarian and immigrant rights leaders — argued that Haiti continues to face severe political instability, gang violence and humanitarian challenges, making it unsafe for many people to return.
The Haitian Community
People of Haitian descent in the U.S. number roughly 1.1 to 1.5 million people, depending on the definition and dataset used.
Of Haitian-born immigrants, in 2024 about 70% were naturalized U.S. citizens. With an estimated 852,000 Haitian immigrants, that works out to roughly 585,000 naturalized citizens.
The remainder were generally noncitizens with various statuses, including permanent residents (green card holders), TPS holders, parolees (their order of removal was stayed because of the country’s instability), visa holders, and some undocumented immigrants.
DHS reports that 235,350 Haitians received green cards between 2010 and 2022.
Haitian immigrants and TPS holders are concentrated in a few major areas. South Florida’s Miami-Dade County, North Miami, Little Haiti, Fort Lauderdale and surrounding areas have some of the largest Haitian communities in the country.
In New York City, particularly in Brooklyn including neighborhoods such as Flatbush and East Flatbush, have long-established Haitian populations.
In Massachusetts Boston, Brockton, Randolph and nearby locations, and in New Jersey Newark, Irvington and surrounding areas have substantial Haitian communities.
In Georgia, the Atlanta metropolitan area has a growing Haitian community. Significant populations also live in parts of Connecticut and central Florida.
In Ohio, where Vice President JD Vance is from, he and Trump falsely claimed Haitians in Springfield were killing and eating residents’ cats and dogs.
The Republican governor repudiated those attacks and said Haitians were hard working members of the community.
Imperialist Destruction
What the Trump government is doing, however, is not new. Hostility towards Haitians and Black people has long been a feature of U.S. imperialism. U.S. direct intervention in Haiti dates back more than a century.
The only successful slave revolt took place in Haiti in 1891 against France’s colonial rule. Haiti gained independence in 1804, yet France demanded payments for the loss of slave property; those payments continued for 150 years. Needless to say, freed slaves received no reparations from France.
In the 20th century the United States, the new top imperialist power, took over from France in administering a neo-colonial relationship of exploitation and national oppression. This included a two-decade Marine occupation of the country from 1915-34.
The battle to defend Haitian refugees today is part of the Haitian people’s broader struggle for their freedom.