Biden administration gives temporary protected status to 309,000 more Haitian migrants

The Biden administration on Friday announced new temporary protected status for Haitians who arrived in the U.S. on or before June 3, 2024, to shield even those who entered the country illegally from being deported back to Haiti, which remains in the grip of gang violence.

“We are providing this humanitarian relief to Haitians already present in the United States given the conditions that existed in their home country as of June 3, 2024,” Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said. “In doing so, we are realizing the core objective of the TPS law and our obligation to fulfill it.”

Immigration advocates had been calling on the Biden administration to designate recently arrived Haitians for temporary protected status since violence broke out there earlier this year and Haiti’s president fled the country and resigned.

This spring, as Haitians fled the violence, the administration continued to deport migrants interdicted at sea and said it had no plans to designate temporary protected status for additional Haitians.

The U.S. previously designated temporary protected status for Haitians who arrived in the U.S. before the 2010 earthquake and renewed the status of that group as recently as 2022. Friday’s announcement would shield an additional 309,000 Haitians living in the U.S. from deportation, according to DHS. Immigration advocates estimate that this would bring the total of Haitians in the U.S. with protected status to roughly 500,000.

A demonstrator during protests in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on March 1.Odelyn Joseph / AP file

Guerline Jozef, executive director of Haitian Bridge Alliance, said she was “elated” by the news, but called for a long-term solution from Congress.

“I call on the U.S. Congress to pass comprehensive immigration reform that would create permanent protection for all [temporary protected status] recipients,” Jozef said.

She added that Haitians eligible for the protections contribute nearly $31 billion to the U.S. economy.

More than 1,100 people have been killed, injured or kidnapped in Haiti, where gangs control 80% of Port-au-Prince, the capital city, advocates said.

Julia Ainsley is the homeland security correspondent for NBC News and covers the Department of Homeland Security for the NBC News Investigative Unit.