Biden administration extends temporary legal status to 300,000 Haitians, drawing a contrast to Trump
The Homeland Security Department says more than 300,000 Haitians already in the United States will be eligible for a major expansion of temporary legal status because conditions in the Caribbean nation are unsafe for return
SAN DIEGO (AP) — An additional 300,000 Haitians already in the United States will be eligible for temporary legal status because conditions in the strife-torn Caribbean nation are considered unsafe for them to return, the Homeland Security Department said Friday.
The major expansion of Temporary Protected Status applies to Haitians who were in the United States on June 3 and will last until Feb. 3, 2026. An extension to Feb. 3, 2026, is also being offered to an estimated 200,000 Haitians who already had TPS, which was created by Congress in 1990 to prevent deportations to countries suffering natural disasters or civil strife.
The move — one of the largest expansions of TPS — draws another sharp policy contrast on immigration between President Joe Biden and his predecessor, Donald Trump, who sought to end temporary status for many countries, including Haiti, during his tenure in the White House.
Gangs have pillaged their way through the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince and surrounding areas, killing, raping and kidnapping thousands of people in recent years and leaving hundreds of thousands of others homeless and unemployed, which in turn has deepened poverty.
