Overview:
A deportation flight from Miami, Florida, brought 161 Haitians to Cap-Haïtien on Thursday, while rights groups press Haiti to prepare for the potential return of more than 300,000 former beneficiaries of the Temporary Protected Status program.
PORT-AU-PRINCE — A United States deportation flight brought over 160 people to Cap-Haïtien on Thursday, providing a first glimpse of the scale of returns Haiti could face as the Trump administration moves ahead with deportations following the end of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haitians.
None of those aboard the flight were former TPS beneficiaries, according to Haiti’s National Office of Migration (ONM). The group included people facing removal proceedings after entering the U.S. without authorization, people who had served prison sentences and some individuals born outside Haiti to at least one Haitian parent.
This is the first reported deportation flight to Haiti since U.S. authorities announced plans last month to increase repatriation flights to twice a week, with about 250 Haitians expected to arrive each week.
Haiti could receive about 1000 deportees each month through two weekly flights after July 24, Haitian migration official says
ONM received 161 individuals, compared with 175 deportees initially announced by U.S. authorities. The flight had originally been scheduled for July 16 but was canceled because of technical problems, according to the Miami Herald.
The arrival comes as more than 300,000 Haitians who had been protected under TPS face the loss of their legal status. Their potential return poses a far greater challenge for Haiti than the number of people on Thursday’s flight.
No announced reintegration plan as rights groups demand action
Haitian authorities have provided few details about how the country will handle the potential return of former TPS beneficiaries, including Haitians who have lived in the U.S. for years or even decades.
As is often the case, those who arrived Thursday received 10,000 gourdes, about $77, from ONM officials to help them travel to their destinations. Police were also expected to detain anyone among the deportees who was wanted by Haitian authorities.
Beyond those immediate measures, however, the government has not announced a broader reception or reintegration program for deportees.
That absence has drawn criticism from Haitian human rights and migrant advocacy groups, particularly as former TPS beneficiaries face possible forced returns to a country struggling with insecurity, displacement and limited access to basic services.
In a recent podcast interview with journalist Luckson Saint-Vil, Haiti’s Consul General in Miami, Yverick Delerme Cyril, said the government did not need to make special preparations for former TPS holders because they were returning to their own country.
Cyril also said many TPS beneficiaries are professionals who would be able to manage their return.
The comments prompted criticism from the Support Group for Returnees and Refugees (GARR, its French acronym).
In an Aug. 20 statement, GARR said the remarks failed to recognize that Haitians facing deportation are not returning voluntarily or with time to prepare.
“GARR reminds Consul Yverick Delerme Cyril that Haitians facing deportation threats are not returning home by choice or by prior arrangement, but are being forcibly expelled without time to prepare or bring anything with them,” the organization said.
GARR also warned that people being pursued, detained and deported face risks to their physical safety and well-being.
Collectif Défenseurs Plus also called on the Haitian government to respond to the consequences of the end of TPS and engage with U.S. authorities.
On Aug. 18, the organization urged Haitian authorities to provide legal, administrative and consular assistance to Haitians facing deportation and establish a national reception and reintegration plan.
“Haitian authorities cannot remain spectators to a situation that directly affects thousands of their nationals living in the United States,” the rights group said in a statement.
The group added that any reintegration plan should protect the dignity and fundamental rights of Haitians who are forced to return.
The concerns come as Haiti continues to face a severe security crisis. Gangs control large parts of the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area and have expanded their influence into other parts of the country. Violence has displaced nearly 1.5 million people, while insecurity has disrupted transportation, health care, education and economic activity.
National roads connecting departments have also become increasingly dangerous as armed groups control or tax traffic along key routes.
For former TPS beneficiaries who have spent years abroad, those conditions could make returning to Haiti particularly difficult.
Renewed clashes, kidnappings and killings in Port-au-Prince and other regions continue to force residents from their homes and raise questions about whether a vote can be held in December
