U.S. Deports 161 Haitians to Cap-Haitien After TPS Ends for 350,000
Updated
Updated · CBS New York · Aug 21
U.S. Deports 161 Haitians to Cap-Haitien After TPS Ends for 350,000
3 articles · Updated · CBS New York · Aug 21
Summary
A U.S. deportation flight carrying 161 Haitians landed Thursday in Cap-Haitien, the first such return since courts cleared the Trump administration to end TPS protections for roughly 350,000 Haitians.
Cap-Haitien was used because Port-au-Prince's airport is considered too dangerous; gangs control about 70% of the capital, and the U.S. still bars commercial flights there through early September.
Haiti's migration office said the deportees included former TPS holders and people who had completed prison sentences, while some were Haiti-born only by descent and knew little or nothing about the country.
Officials offered returnees up to $65, food and temporary shelter, but aid groups said Haiti lacks the capacity to absorb them as more than half the population needs humanitarian assistance and 1.5 million people are already displaced.
The flight signals a broader acceleration in removals after the June Supreme Court ruling and an Aug. 5 federal order, with activists and even Ohio Governor Mike DeWine warning deportees face severe danger.
With the capital's airport deemed too dangerous for commercial flights, how will newly deported individuals survive the escalating gang violence in Haiti?
What unprecedented security measures are being used to safely land deportation flights in a country where civilian aviation faces constant gunfire?
As essential caregivers face sudden deportation, how will the looming staffing crisis impact local healthcare systems relying on this critical workforce?