First deportation flight lands in Haiti after TPS suspension

The first deportation flight carrying over 160 Haitian nationals landed in Cap-Haïtien, Haiti, on Thursday, following the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to uphold the end of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haitians. The flight, operated by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), arrived in Haiti's second-largest city because the main airport in the capital, Port-au-Prince, is deemed too dangerous. U.S. commercial flights are currently banned from Port-au-Prince through early September due to escalating gang violence.

Deportees, many concealing their faces, were filmed by journalists upon arrival. Most declined to speak with the media, citing fears of being targeted by gangs that exert control over an estimated 70% of Port-au-Prince and surrounding areas. The U.S. Department of State has issued its highest travel advisory for Haiti, warning citizens against travel for any reason due to risks from crime, terrorism, kidnapping, unrest, and limited healthcare.

This deportation flight marks the first since the Trump administration terminated TPS for Haitians living and working in the U.S. with that protection. U.S. officials had previously alerted Haitian authorities to expect an increased number of removals. ICE has reportedly conducted eight flights from the U.S. to Haiti this year, including one on July 16 that carried deportees with criminal records.

Jean Négot Bonheur Delva, director general of Haiti’s national office of migration, informed the Miami Herald that the flight included individuals born in Chile and the Dominican Republic but sent to Haiti due to having a Haitian parent. The deportees from the U.S. reportedly received approximately $76.40 to facilitate their return, an amount insufficient for a ticket to Port-au-Prince from Cap-Haïtien but enough to navigate some gang-controlled routes.

The end of TPS status for Haitian nationals occurred earlier this month after a Washington D.C. district judge removed a stay on deportations, following the Supreme Court's ruling that supported the Trump administration's move to end the program. TPS, established by Congress in 1990, is intended to protect individuals already in the U.S. when their home country faces natural disasters, epidemics, armed conflict, or other extraordinary circumstances. The Trump administration's actions to strip protections from various nations, coupled with the Supreme Court's decision, leave little room for legal recourse.

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Do not travel to Haiti for any reason. U.S. citizens are at risk due to crime, terrorism, kidnapping, unrest, and limited health care.