For more than a decade, hundreds of thousands of foreign nationals from Haiti have been able to claim Temporary Protected Status (TPS) in the U.S., which is a sort of quasi-legal status that allows individuals to live and work in the U.S. for a time without fear of deportation to their home nation.

That is ending under President Donald Trump, as the Department of Homeland Security announced this week that TPS for an estimated 353,000 Haitians will expire and be terminated in February 2026, according to Fox News.

TPS for Haitian migrants, which was initially granted in 2010 under the Obama administration, has been extended several times over the years, and at least two prior attempts by Trump to end TPS early for Haitians have been blocked by federal courts.

Haiti's TPS designation set to end

On Friday, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem published a notice in the Federal Register about the decision to terminate the TPS designation for Haiti and how the current protections for Haitian migrants in the U.S. will expire at the end of Feb. 3, 2026.

"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 notice stated. "The Secretary, therefore, is newly terminating the Temporary Protected Status designation of Haiti as required by statute."

Per the statutes, TPS designations can be granted in up to 18-month blocks for certain countries with specific conditions that render it unsafe for migrants of that nation to be returned, and Haiti first received its TPS designation under former President Barack Obama following a devastating 2010 earthquake.

That designation was fully extended four times under Obama and twice under former President Joe Biden. Following an initial six-month extension during the first Trump administration, efforts to terminate Haiti's TPS designation were blocked by the courts.

Indeed, even though the law prohibits judicial review of TPS designation decisions, a district court blocked a 2019 attempt to end Haiti's designation, while another judge earlier this year blocked an attempt to cancel the designation before its February 2026 expiration date.

Previous termination efforts blocked by courts

In June, DHS issued a press release to announce a decision to terminate Haiti's TPS designation by September, only for a lawsuit filed by activists to succeed in winning a court injunction preventing that move.

At the time, an unnamed DHS spokesperson said, "This decision restores integrity in our immigration system and ensures that Temporary Protective Status is actually temporary."

"The environmental situation in Haiti has improved enough that it is safe for Haitian citizens to return home," the spokesperson added. "We encourage these individuals to take advantage of the Department’s resources in returning to Haiti, which can be arranged through the CBP Home app. Haitian nationals may pursue lawful status through other immigration benefit requests, if eligible."

Haitians encouraged to self-deport

According to Fox News, DHS said of this latest move, "After consulting with interagency partners, Secretary Noem concluded that Haiti no longer meets the statutory requirements for TPS."

"This decision was based on a review conducted by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, input from relevant U.S. government agencies, and an analysis indicating that allowing Haitian nationals to remain temporarily in the United States is inconsistent with U.S. national interests," the statement added.

Haitian migrants are encouraged to voluntarily self-deport before February, and are even being offered a complimentary one-way plane ticket, a $1,000 exit bonus, and an opportunity to re-enter the U.S. legally in the future. Those who are apprehended after the expiration date next year will face forcible deportation, no exit bonus, and be barred from reentry for several years.