Now the Trump administration announces an end to TPS protections for half a million Haitians living in the United States. Temporary Protected Status (TPS) is a temporary immigration status that protected people from deportation and provided work authorization. It was granted to nationals of countries experiencing armed conflict, environmental disasters, or other conditions that make it unsafe to return home. Thousands of Haitians had benefited.
During his stopover in the Dominican Republic on his Central American and DR tour at the start of his term as US Secretary of State Marco Rubio acknowledged that the DR could not be asked to take a wave of migrants. The Dominican Republic for decades has been absorbing thousands of Haitian migrants. With the worsening of the security crisis in Haiti over the years, migration has been increasing.
There is concern if those who have lost their TPS protection will be deported and what this could mean for the Dominican Republic. Unlike the majority of those who clandestinely migrate across the border to the DR, those with TPS protections have civil identities and are educated Haitians, but where these will be sent is unknown. The Cap Haitien airport in Haiti is in operation.
Meanwhile, in Santo Domingo, the Presidency over the weekend spoke of the continuing of bolstering the capacity of the local Armed Forces to resist more Haitian migration. President Abinader spoke when with Minister of Defense Lieutenant General Carlos Fernandez Onofre to oversee the delivery of 183 vehicles of different kinds to the Armed Forces to strengthen capacity at the border with Haiti at a time when the violence of the gangs continues.
“We have a very special challenge. A challenge, cause, unfortunately, we border with Haiti that has an instability situation as no other country in the Western Hemisphere,” the President highlighted when in Pedro Brand army base to supervise the delivery of the new equipment – transport personnel, patrols, buses, minibuses and motorcycles. The equipment also includes six special vehicles for fire emergencies and a drone for the Specialized Corps for Mitigation of Disasters.
Referring to the new measures of US President Trump, Abinader said he respects the decisions the Trump administration is implementing against the migration of undocumented citizens in the United States. Every country can issue its migratory measures, said President Abinader. “We also have to prepare ourselves even more in this sense,” he acknowledged.
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CBS News
24 February 2025