Trump targets temporary protected status. What that could mean for Haitians in the US.

Donald Trump campaigned – and won – on countering illegal immigration. But the president-elect has signaled plans to curb certain immigrants’ legal protections, too.

Those include temporary protected status. TPS was designed by Congress to shield immigrants in the U.S. from violence and natural disaster back home. Mr. Trump has said he’d “revoke” it for Haitians. If confirmed by the Senate, his Department of Homeland Security secretary pick, Gov. Kristi Noem of South Dakota, could carry out attempts to end its use.

TPS doesn’t provide lasting legal relief like asylum. Still, advocates on the left say it’s an important authority that keeps immigrants safe and lets them work. Critics on the right say the program encourages illegal immigration under the guise of protection, and no longer lives up to the name of “temporary.”

What is temporary protected status?

The U.S. Homeland Security secretary may designate a foreign country for TPS when conditions in that country – like armed conflict, natural disaster, or other “extraordinary and temporary” developments – make it unable to receive its nationals safely.

In 1990, Congress created this authority and President George H.W. Bush signed it into law. At the time, people fleeing a civil war in El Salvador were the first to benefit.

Immigrants who receive TPS are protected from deportation and can obtain a work permit. However, as the name suggests, this status is intended to be temporary. There is no direct path to a green card, much less citizenship, once it expires. TPS can last up to 18 months, which the Department of Homeland Security can decide to extend.

Importantly, this status is only available to immigrants already in the U.S. as of a certain date. How they arrived here doesn’t typically matter.

Currently, 16 countries are designated for TPS, including Afghanistan, Sudan, and Venezuela. Haiti is another.

Lynne Sladky/AP/File

Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas (right) stands with Sandy Dorsainvil (left), the director of the Little Haiti Cultural Center, May 25, 2021, in Miami. Mr. Mayorkas met with community leaders following the announcement of a new 18-month designation for Haiti for temporary protected status.

Have Haitians received TPS before?

Yes. Following Haiti’s catastrophic earthquake in 2010, the Obama administration offered TPS to Haitians and repeatedly prolonged it. The Trump administration initially extended TPS for Haitians, then announced its termination. Through litigation, however, Haitians were able to hold on to that status.

The Biden administration designated Haiti anew in May 2021, citing “political crisis and human rights abuses” along with other security and health concerns. Two months later, Haitian President Jovenel Moïse was assassinated. Chaos, including rampant gang violence, continues. The U.S. this month announced a temporary ban on flights to Haiti due to planes hit by gunfire.

The White House has renewed the country’s designation, with current protections for Haitian TPS holders set to last through February 2026. More than 200,000 beneficiaries had that status as of 2023, estimates the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

Haitians in Springfield, Ohio, made headlines as Mr. Trump elevated misinformation about the group, including at a presidential debate. An influx of Haitian immigrants to the city has strained road safety and schools; the immigrants have also filled jobs.

Mr. Trump kept Haitians in the news last month when asked about the community in Springfield. He told NewsNation that, in terms of TPS, “Absolutely I’d revoke it, and I’d bring them back to their country.”

The Trump transition team did not directly respond to a request to clarify. In an emailed statement, spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said voters’ reelection of Mr. Trump is “giving him a mandate” to implement campaign promises.

Can Mr. Trump revoke TPS?

It’s unclear whether the incoming Trump administration will – or even can, legally – revoke a TPS designation before its scheduled end. Refusing to prolong it would be more standard.

It’s likely “more politically expedient, or practically expedient, for an administration to let one lapse,” says Greg Chen, senior director of government relations at the American Immigration Lawyers Association.

If their TPS isn’t renewed, an immigrant could risk living in the U.S. without authorization – and being deported – unless they apply for another protection that extends their stay.

However, “that presumes that an incoming administration would actually follow the law, and respect people’s due process and civil rights,” says Mr. Chen.

Immigrant advocates have pushed, unsuccessfully, to secure paths to permanent residence for TPS holders – some of whom have lived in the U.S. for over two decades. Those supporters forget that the “T” in TPS stands for “temporary,” says Ira Mehlman, media director at the Federation for American Immigration Reform.

“If the system is going to have any sort of integrity, then we need to make sure that people do go home – once, you know, the immediate crisis has passed,” he says.

When that day will come for Haitians is unclear.