US Announces End to Migration Benefit for Haiti, Requires Haitians to Leave Country

By teleSUR

21 November 17

All of 58,706 beneficiaries will have until July 2018 to return to their country of origin.

he Government of the United States announced on Monday the end of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haiti as of July 2018. The 58,706 beneficiaries will have 18 months to return to their country or look for another alternative. This for a population that has lived in the U.S. for the last 13 years on average. 

"The decision to terminate TPS (temporary protected status) 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, as required by statute," the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement. "Based on all available information, including recommendations received as part of an inter-agency consultation process, Acting Secretary Duke determined that those extraordinary but temporary conditions caused by the 2010 earthquake no longer exist."

Two weeks ago, the United States also put an end to the TPS for Nicaragua. The 5,349 immigrants who have this benefit have 12 months to return to their country.

In 1990, the TPS was created through which the US grants temporary permits in an extraordinary way to nationals of countries affected by armed conflicts or natural disasters.

Permits were renewed automatically for periods of 18 months, however, the Trump government decided to re-evaluate the conditions of the program bringing it to an end, a measure not implemented by Trump's predecessors.