By Blessing Nweke
More than 160 Haitians deported from the United States arrived in northern Haiti on Friday, marking the first large-scale return since the U.S. ended protections that had allowed hundreds of thousands of Haitians to remain legally in the country.
The deportees landed at Cap- Haïtien airport rather than Port-au-Prince, where severe gang violence has made the capital increasingly dangerous. Haiti is facing a deep security and humanitarian crisis, with armed groups controlling large areas of Port-au-Prince and millions of people affected by displacement and poverty.
The U.S. Supreme Court’s June decision paved the way for the end of Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, for Haitians. The program had protected roughly 350,000 people from deportation and allowed them to work legally in the United States.
Some of those returned had criminal convictions, while others were Haitian nationals who had spent years building lives in the United States. The deportations have raised concerns among human rights advocates, who argue that Haiti does not currently have sufficient security or resources to safely receive large numbers of returnees.
Haitian authorities provided limited assistance to the arrivals, including food and about $65 per person, according to reports.
The latest deportations come as the Trump administration expands immigration enforcement and moves to remove migrants whose temporary legal protections have expired.
Advocates warn that returning Haitians to a country struggling with gang violence could expose vulnerable people to further danger, while U.S. officials maintain that those without legal status should leave the country.
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