Second Group of Haitian Nationals Arrives Following Temporary Protected Status Termination

Roughly 70 Haitian nationals touched down at Cap-Haïtien International Airport on Thursday in what officials characterized as the second wave of arrivals since the Trump administration ended Temporary Protected Status for eligible residents. The group included young children alongside adults who descended from the aircraft, with Local 10 News obtaining exclusive footage of the landing.

This latest arrival follows an earlier flight last week that brought 160 individuals to the same airport. That initial group represented a cross-section of former TPS holders as well as individuals with prior criminal histories in the United States. The Department of Homeland Security released social media footage Thursday evening depicting passengers in rainy conditions being escorted aboard the aircraft earlier that day, accompanied by Haitian music.

One returnee, a Port-au-Prince native who departed Haiti a decade ago, expressed ambivalence about his arrival when interviewed in Haitian Creole. He clarified he had not entered the United States through the humanitarian parole initiative established in January 2023. Though stating he wanted to come home, he said he envisioned returning under happier circumstances with loved ones rather than through forced deportation.

A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson defended the policy, stating that deportations to Haiti “never stopped” and rejecting disclosure of flight details for operational security reasons. The official characterized Temporary Protected Status as explicitly temporary, asserting that Congress never intended the program to function as permanent amnesty and that it had become a de facto shelter from removal.