Acting Department of Homeland Security Secretary Elaine Duke announced Monday the termination of Haiti’s Temporary Protected Status (TPS), which will end July 22, 2019.
“The decision to terminate TPS for Haiti was made after a review of the conditions upon which the country’s original designation were based and whether those extraordinary but temporary conditions prevented Haiti from adequately handling the return of their nationals,” a DHS statement said. “[T]hose extraordinary but temporary conditions caused by the 2010 earthquake no longer exist.”
According to a Nov. 7, 2017, Congressional Research Service report, 46,000 Haitians registered in the most recent TPS registration period.
During 2017, DHS reported that U.S. Citizenship and Immigrations Services reached out to Haitian communities across the country through a variety of meetings and conferences before Duke’s decision Monday. The number of those displaced by the earthquake has dropped by 97 percent.
“Significant steps have been taken to improve the stability and quality of life for Haitian citizens, and Haiti is able to safely receive traditional levels of returned citizens,” the statement continued. “Haiti has also demonstrated a commitment to adequately prepare for when the country’s TPS designation is terminated.
Former DHS Secretary John Kelly previously extended Haiti’s TPS in May of this year through January 2018.
“To allow for an orderly transition, the effective date of the termination of TPS for Haiti will be delayed 18 months,” the DHS statement said. “This will provide time for individuals with TPS to arrange for their departure or to seek an alternative lawful immigration status in the United States, if eligible.
Earlier this month, DHS announced an extension of Nicaragua’s TPS, which will now end Jan. 5, 2019, and Honduras’ TPS, which will end in July 2018.
© 2017 Homeland411