Haiti

Even before Haitian immigrants in Ohio officially lost their Temporary Protected Status, the Department of Homeland Security required dozens of them to report to immigration appointments and accept ankle monitors.

A new survey, which comes on what may be the eve of mass deportations back to Haiti, finds Haitians see the defeat of gang rule as their priority — but while they reject amnesty for gang members, they say the restoration of security has to happen alongside meaningful investment in education and other institutions to halt Haiti's gang cycle.

Voter registration has started in Haiti's capital and beyond, marking a critical milestone in the push for general elections even as concerns over widespread gang violence persist. The government on Thursday opened 10 registration centers across Port-au-Prince in neighborhoods considered generally safe as dozens of hopeful Haitians trickled through.

As part of its crackdown on legal and illegal immigration, the Trump administration terminated TPS for about 1 million people from more than a dozen countries, including 350,000 Haitians who have been living and working legally in the U.S. since 2010.

Temporary protected status was given to Haitians after the 2010 quake because Haiti was deemed too dangerous for a safe return. In June, the Supreme Court allowed the Trump administration to end TPS.

Rights organizations and civic leaders inside Haiti, warn the Trump administration's plans for Haitian TPS deportations risk violating an international law principle that prohibits forcing refugees back to a place where they're likely to be harmed if not killed.

A Supreme Court ruling stripped Haitian migrants of their temporary legal status. Those with U.S.-born children face an agonizing choice if deported: Should they take them to a still-dangerous Haiti?

Mike Waltz, the U.S. envoy to the United Nations, says his government will soon target violent gangs in Haiti who make money off social media posts. Gang leaders in the troubled Caribbean country are prolific users of social media and have celebrated killings, issued threats and posted musings on various sites.

“If roughly one in five Haitian TPS holders works in healthcare occupations, as national workforce analyses indicate, as many as 35,000 healthcare workers in Florida could be affected by recent policy changes,” a July 7 letter to DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin from FHCA Chief Executive Officer J. Emmett Reed notes.

The U.S. Supreme Court decision allowing the Trump administration to end Temporary Protected Status for Haitians could create a caregiving crisis, lawmakers from both political parties said.

“Without TPS protections, Haitians risk being sent back to one of the world’s most devastating human rights crises,” said Juanita Goebertus, Americas director at Human Rights Watch, in releasing their report.

Advocates are urging Floridians to call on their senators to support Bill S. 4814, which would reinstate the residency status for Haitians as well as permanent paths for U.S. citizenship.