The Trump administration reversed a Biden-era decision last week to extend temporary protected status for Haitians residing in the U.S., which gives them legal status safe from deportation.
The TPS designation for Haiti now expires in August, instead of February 2026. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said the Trump administration is “returning TPS to its original status: temporary.”
DHS says more than 500,000 Haitians either have or are eligible for TPS under the new designation. More than 12,000 Haitians, some on TPS, live in North Carolina.
Carl Pierre, a Charlotte-based Haitian-American immigration attorney, says many Haitians who may lose their TPS designation have resided in the U.S. for years.
"They may not have family members that are still there in Haiti at the time so they'll be going back to strangers," Pierre said. "They would be going back to an area that's unfamiliar to them. It is very dangerous for them to go back."
Pierre says Haitians who are at risk of losing their TPS status have alternatives like seeking asylum or exploring family-based petitions.
