The U.S. Must Redesignate Haiti for Temporary Protected Status (TPS)

The situation in Haiti is increasingly dire, with violence, instability, and a looming famine forcibly displacing hundreds of thousands of people, half of whom are children. Redesignating and extending Haiti for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) is critical to providing safety and stability for vital members of our American communities. Just as importantly, protecting and expanding additional safe and legal pathways for Haitian individuals to come to the U.S. would save countless lives, keep families and communities safe and together and could prevent further chaos and cruelty at our borders and beyond. 

The current TPS designation for Haiti expires on August 4, 2024. The Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security must decide if conditions in the country warrant an extension and redesignation by June 5, 2024. With a recent increase in extraordinary levels of armed violence and humanitarian crises in the country, the Biden administration should redesignate and extend TPS for Haiti.

In December 2022, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas announced a redesignation and extension of TPS for Haiti, citing “socioeconomic challenges, political instability… violence and crime — aggravated by environmental disaster.” Since that time, the situation in Haiti has deteriorated so much that the country which faces a security emergency with increasingly powerful armed groups and a years-long dismantling of democracy is now in the middle of political and economic collapse with a multitude of humanitarian crises such as a record level of hunger, a health emergency, and widespread human rights violations including killings and kidnappings.

TPS Can Save the Lives of Haitian Nationals and Keep Families Together

Congress created TPS to prevent tragedies just like this, giving the executive branch the power to grant relief from deportation and give work authorization in cases where violence and other crises make returning to a country unsafe. Given the multiple crises unfolding in Haiti, the Biden Administration should use its statutory authority to immediately extend and redesignate Haiti for TPS, as well as protect and expand more safe and legal pathways for Haitians to come to the U.S.

Doing so would provide clear benefits to American communities. The estimated 308,000 Haitians who are living in the U.S. and are currently eligible for TPS contribute $4.4 billion to our economy each year, and 75,000 of them are working in labor-short industries, providing essential services and creating greater certainty for employers. These individuals have lived in the U.S. for many years, building families and powering U.S. communities across the country. Over 200,000 U.S. citizens including 87,000 children live with these TPS-eligible individuals. 

Redesignating and extending Haiti for TPS could protect at least 169,000 more people, according to FWD.us estimates as of September 30, 2023. Continuing to provide TPS protections for Haitian nationals will ensure that families remain together and are able to continue building meaningful lives in American society, with even greater certainty while helping to stabilize their family members in Haiti. Moreover, redesignating Haiti for TPS will allow more Haitians in the U.S. to contribute their skills and talents to American communities and the American workforce while supporting and empowering cities welcoming new arrivals fleeing some of the worst armed conflicts and humanitarian and environmental disasters of our time.

Political and Economic Collapse

Nearly a year and a half after its latest TPS designation, Haiti is on the verge of political and economic collapse, as government institutions crumble and public services are virtually nonexistent. For years Haiti’s government has faced political instability, exacerbated by the assassination of President Jovenal Moïse in 2021 and the subsequent further breakdown of the democratic process and government institutions. Armed groups now control 80% of the capital city Port-Au-Prince and in March 2024 following coordinated attacks by these groups which included shutting down the country’s main airport, Haitian government officials declared a state of emergency, putting in place a curfew. Shortly after de facto Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry stated he would resign as soon as a transitional presidential council was established. Henry has since resigned and the transitional council has officially been appointed. Tragically, violence and insecurity in the country continues. As this political instability came to a head, the U.S. State Department began evacuating nonessential embassy employees and American citizens on chartered flights including helicopters, demonstrating the Biden administration’s understanding of the urgency and seriousness of the security crises in the country.

In addition to having to flee from violence on a daily basis, Haitians all over the country are struggling to care for themselves and their loved ones with the economy grounding to a halt. Individuals are unable to access fuel, transportation, or roads to get to work, and businesses, schools, banks, and government institutions have been forced to close. Attacks on the capital city’s electrical stations have left multiple areas in the entire country without power. On top of collapsing infrastructure, the effects of COVID-19 and the 7.2 earthquake that hit Haiti in 2021 have further strained the country’s already weakened economy. Haiti’s extreme vulnerability to natural disasters has hindered its economy and following the 2021 earthquake government officials estimated it would cost an additional $2 billion to rebuild the country.

Haiti is extremely reliant on its agriculture industry with many of the nation’s food insecure population living in rural areas in the country. Severe floods in November 2023 damaged crops, further contributing to supply chain challenges and already soaring food prices. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations reported that production for grains plummeted in 2023 by “39% for maize, 34% for rice and 22% for sorghum compared to the five-year average.” Without access to food, income, or government services, Haitians are facing a looming famine, all while having to endure threats of armed violence and widespread human rights violations.

In addition to the food emergency in Haiti, the country’s already delicate health infrastructure is collapsing, exacerbating humanitarian crises in the country. Half of all medical facilities in Port-au-Prince are closed or are not able to operate fully. Hospitals have been set on fire, doctors face intimidation and violence, including murder, and cannot safely go to work. Further, due in part to the years-long blocking of trade, roads and the capital city’s port medical supplies are scarce.

Lack of medical services, particularly provisional and emergency services continue to leave Haitians vulnerable to the 2022 resurgence of the cholera epidemic in the country which has proven to be one of the deadliest in the world. In 2023 there were 76,556 suspected and confirmed cases and 1,156 deaths, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). These figures are likely much higher due to underreporting and lack of access to medical care for Haitian people.