The Trump administration decided to end Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haitian community members by August 2025. In response, New York City and State officials joined advocates to demand permanent protections for Haitian nationals.
Haiti has experienced decades of political and environmental turmoil, including a devastating earthquake in 2010, an assassination attempt of Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry, and severe flooding and landslides in 2023. Armed groups control much of the capital, Port-au-Prince, while humanitarian conditions continue to worsen for locals and youth.
“We will not remain silent while Haitian families in Brooklyn and beyond are threatened. The Trump Administration’s cruel decision to terminate TPS for Haitian nationals ignores Haiti’s dire reality and puts families who have built their lives here in jeopardy,” said Councilmember Farah Louis, who is of Haitian descent. She gathered with other elected officials and advocates at a rally at City Hall on Feb. 27.
“This isn’t about policy — it’s about cruelty. Stripping their protections would destabilize lives and communities,” continued Louis. “We are here to fight for what is right: ensuring Haitian TPS recipients can continue to live and work with dignity, respect, and security.”
Stateside, President Donald Trump has had nothing but a contentious relationship with much of the larger Haitian immigrant community for years. In 2018, he referred to Haiti and African nations as “shithole” countries, though a small group of “Haitians for Trump” defended his comments at the time. More recently, Trump falsely claimed in 2024’s presidential debate with former Vice President Kamala Harris that Haitians in Ohio were eating dogs and cats.
“We are where most of us thought we would be and tried to warn folks about. I just want to be clear about that. Too often, people tried to pretend like folks were exaggerating,” said Public Advocate Jumaane Williams at the rally. “Right now, what they’re doing, making people who are here legally, actually in this country under a legal status, now here illegally [is] to expand the people they can deport. This goes with the fact that they’re trying to take away birthright citizenship. Because this was never about illegal immigration. This was never about finding criminals. Ever. It was simply about Black and Brown immigrants.”
Department of Homeland (DHS) Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who was sworn in on Jan. 25, announced an end to Haiti’s TPS designation from Aug. 3 to February 2026. Similarly, she announced the end of TPS for Venezuelans from April 7 to October 2026.
“Haiti is in the grip of a severe humanitarian and human rights crisis. Atrocious massacres of hundreds of innocent civilians are now a regular, frequent occurrence, while food insecurity is rampant. There is blood on the streets in the hands of gangs that effectively control the county while increasingly exploiting more and more children,” said Assemblymember Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn, Brooklyn’s county party boss who is also of Haitian descent.
Hermelyn said that the sudden decision to rescind TPS would result in the deportation of over 500,000 Haitian asylum seekers currently looking for legal sanctuary in the U.S. For context, New York State has the third-highest population of Haitians in the country. There’s an estimated 196,698 Haitian residents statewide, about 32,700 of which are not U.S. citizens, according to the 2023 American Community Survey 1-Year estimates.
“TPS is granted to U.S. immigrants who can’t return to their countries because of violence, natural disasters, or political upheaval — all of which Haiti suffers from,” said Hermelyn. “Let’s be crystal clear: TPS does not provide a path to citizenship — and rescinding it for countries in need is a cruel, racially motivated decision that violates countless human rights statutes.”
“These are our neighbors, coworkers, and friends,” said Flatbush Development Corporation Executive Director Robin Redmond. “DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said the TPS system has been ‘exploited and abused for years.’ Well, this decision will throw our families back into a country where they will be exploited and abused for years. This is not the American way.”
Shortly after the TPS terminations, upstate’s Congressmember Laura Gillen introduced H.R. 1689, a bipartisan bill to extend TPS protections for 18 months past the new end date. Gillen is leading the bill alongside Republican Congressmember Mike Lawler and Haiti Caucus Co-Chair Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick. She added that there are about 26,000 Haitian residents in Nassau County.
“The Administration’s abrupt, unfounded decision to end Temporary Protected Status for Haitians will have a devastating impact on Long Island. Nearly half a million law-abiding Haitian TPS holders who followed the rules, passed thorough vetting and background checks, and lawfully came to the United States after facing extreme danger in Haiti could be impacted by this decision,” said Gillen. “TPS holders work, pay household income and property taxes, and contribute to our economy…That means our neighbors, who have been protected under our laws, are now having the rug pulled out from under them and face being sent back to certain, life-threatening danger.”
In addition to a move on the legislative front, a group of immigrant organizations have banned together to sue the Trump administration over the TPS order, saying that it is “unlawful” under the U.S. Constitution. The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts by Haitian Americans United Inc., the Venezuelan Association of Massachusetts, UndocuBlack Network Inc., and four individual TPS recipients.