Over 200 Haitians have been deported from the US during the last few weeks since deportation of undocumented immigrant Haitians was resumed by the Obama administration. This is according to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Jeh Johnson, the DHS Secretary, says that removal operations by Immigration and Customs Enforcement are expected to expand over the next few weeks.
Johnson reiterated that Haitian nationals currently holding Temporary Protected Status (TPS) will be unaffected by the decision to resume deportation to the Caribbean nation. TPS has been extended until 22 July 2017, although Johnson notes an increase in the number of Haitian undocumented immigrants caught at the southern border lately.
Johnson announced that the US would resume deporting Haitian nationals on 22 September. Earlier in November, the Obama administration was urged to halt the deportations by Yvette D. Clarke, a Caribbean American Congresswoman, who insisted that most of the Haitians targeted for deportation by the Department of Homeland Security were not accused of any criminal offences.
Clarke, who is the child of immigrants from Jamaica, says that thousands of Haitian immigrants are being returned to a nation that continues to struggle following the devastating Hurricane Matthew and a recent cholera outbreak. 13 Congressional colleagues joined Clarke in calling for the suspension of deportations of Haitian nationals on 2 November. An online petition has also been launched by two important Haitian Diaspora groups from New York.