Biden Administration to Protect 300,000 Haitians from Deportation

The Biden administration is set to shield approximately 300,000 Haitians from deportation and grant them permission to work in the United States, according to sources familiar with the situation. This move is part of ongoing efforts to safeguard immigrants from being sent back to countries facing significant challenges.

The administration’s plan entails granting temporary protected status to Haitians who arrived in the U.S. after November 2022 and before early June. This decision marks the latest in a series of immigration actions taken by President Biden, such as facilitating the process for undocumented spouses of U.S. citizens to obtain American citizenship and restricting asylum claims at the southern border.

President Biden’s approach to immigration policy has recently shown a shift towards a more stringent stance at the southern border, which some observers interpret as an effort to strengthen his chances of re-election. Criticism of his policies has come from both ends of the political spectrum: immigration activists on the left have condemned his asylum crackdown, while figures like former President Donald J. Trump on the right view his approach as too lenient towards illegal entrants.

In the past few years, the Biden administration has utilized temporary protected status to shield hundreds of thousands of migrants, including individuals from countries like Venezuela, Ukraine, Afghanistan, and Haiti. The decision to extend protections to Haiti comes in the wake of severe violence and instability in the country, notably highlighted by the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in 2021 and the rise of gangs controlling significant parts of Haiti.

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro N. Mayorkas initially designated Haiti for temporary protected status in 2021 and subsequently renewed this status in late 2022.