Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas extended protected status for an estimated 309,000 arrivals from Haiti through the beginning of 2026 as the nation faces gang violence, meaning that those who arrived illegally in recent months will not be deported.
Officials at the Department of Homeland Security wrote in a statement that Mayorkas determined the temporary protected status extension was merited because of the crisis in Haiti. They asserted that the move was “not contrary to the national interest of the United States.”
“We are providing this humanitarian relief to Haitians already present in the United States given the conditions that existed in their home country,” Mayorkas commented.
Haiti has witnessed turmoil after gangs stormed the main prison facility in Port-au-Prince earlier this year, leading to the escape of several thousand inmates and the resignation of Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry. The streets of the capital city have since been marked by armed gang conflict, while access to water, food, and healthcare has been increasingly limited.
Other authorities in the United States have meanwhile cautioned that an influx of illegal aliens from Haiti would strain government resources and worsen the broader effects of mass illegal immigration. Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis recently ordered state law enforcement to deploy additional resources to prevent increased arrivals from Haiti.
The move from the Department of Homeland Security comes as voters become wary of elevated illegal immigration under President Joe Biden, with a majority of the public supporting mass deportations for those who entered the country illegally. Biden recently announced that he would offer legal status, as well as a pathway to residency and citizenship, to more than 550,000 illegal aliens married to Americans and their noncitizen children.
Customs and Border Protection has encountered more than 7.5 million individuals entering the country illegally since Biden assumed office. Americans are now most likely to say that immigration is the “most important problem” facing the country, according to a survey from Gallup.
