The administration of President Donald Trump is planning to let the protected status of Haitian migrants expire in February 2026.

Fox News reports that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced the decision on Wednesday.

This will affect the roughly 353,000 Haitian migrants who currently have temporary protected status (TPS). This status, according to Fox, "protects eligible migrants from deportation and lets them work legally in the United States while conditions in their home country remain unsafe."

Trump admin set to let protected status for 350,000 Haitian migrants expire in Februaryhttps://t.co/bepBSazese

— Karoline Leavitt (@PressSec) November 28, 2025

The details

DHS announced the decision in a notice that it posted to the Federal Register. It can be found in its entirety here.

It, in part, reads:

Through this notice, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) newly announces that the Secretary of Homeland Security (Secretary) is terminating the designation of Haiti for Temporary Protected Status. Because of interference by a federal district court judge, the designation of Haiti is set to expire on February 3, 2026.

DHS goes on to explain how it reached this decision.

It continues:

After reviewing country conditions and consulting with appropriate U.S. Government agencies, the Secretary determined that Haiti no longer meets the conditions for the designation for Temporary Protected Status. The Secretary, therefore, is newly terminating the Temporary Protected Status designation of Haiti as required by statute. This termination is effective February 3, 2026.

In other words, these migrants will lose that TPS after Feb. 3, 2026.

Background

It was the administration of former President Joe Biden, according to CBS News, that "vastly expanded" the TPS policy.

Per the outlet:

The Biden administration vastly expanded the TPS policy, offering the protections to hundreds of thousands of new arrivals from Afghanistan, Haiti, Ukraine, Venezuela and other countries. Some of those who benefit from TPS entered the U.S. illegally, most commonly along the southern border, while others arrived legally on temporary visas or programs.

President Trump, in contrast, has been looking to get rid of TPS programs, arguing that they have been abused.

CBS reports:

The Trump administration has argued the TPS policy has been abused by Democratic administrations, exploited by bad actors, and extended for too long . . .  In some cases, it has argued conditions in countries with TPS have improved and in other cases, it has said that extending the program would not further U.S. interests . . .

With regard to Haiti, CBS writes that the DHS argued TPS "was a magnet for illegal immigration, and that continuing the program posed national security and public safety risks."