Haitian immigrants with Temporary Protected Status are bracing for possible deportation after the Trump administration announced it will end protections for more than 350,000 people living in the United States.
“I don’t know what I’m going to do,” Luce Janvier said in Creole.
Janvier was granted TPS 22 years ago and fears being sent back to Haiti, where gangs destroyed her home and stole her belongings.
Now, she said, she is terrified to return, describing Haiti as a country with no sense of safety or security.
Community leaders vow legal fight
Local leaders and activists condemned the move outside the Haiti Cultural Center on Tuesday, calling it immoral and pledging to sue the Trump administration in federal court. They argue conditions in Haiti are too dangerous for deportees.
DHS cites national interest in decision
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem acknowledged Haiti’s political upheaval and humanitarian crisis but said the termination was driven by national interest.
“All these people are going to go to Haiti, they’re going to become a target to a terrorist group. So you’re just sending them to their death, you’re sending them to rape, to extortion and to kidnapping,” said Farrah Larrieux, who has held TPS for 20 years.
Immigration attorney urges families to prepare
Emmanuella Telfort, an immigration attorney and president-elect of the Haitian Lawyers Association, said families should consult reputable attorneys and make contingency plans, including guardianship for U.S.-born children.
“We’re talking about mixed-status individuals, parents who may not have immigration status in the country, but children who are U.S.-born citizens,” Telfort said. “You need to sit down and actually have a plan.”
Janvier says Haiti is not safe
“As a 69-year-old, I would not mind being in my country of origin living out my older years, but there’s no possibility because there is no security,” Janvier said. “The conditions do not exist for us to live, to work, to thrive in Haiti; therefore, we cannot go back under these circumstances.”
TPS for Haitian immigrants is set to expire Feb. 3, 2026.
