First deportees arrive in Haiti after U.S. ends TPS protection

The United States deported more than 160 people to Haiti on Thursday, marking the first such flight since the Trump administration won a legal battle to end Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for approximately 350,000 Haitians. Due to ongoing gang violence and the closure of the main international airport in Port-au-Prince, the flight landed in the northern city of Cap-Haitien. Jean Négot Bonheur Delva, director general of Haiti's National Office of Migration, stated that the deportees included both TPS holders and individuals with criminal records. He noted that the Haitian government did not request these returns and faces significant security challenges in assisting them to reach their homes. Human rights activists have warned that Haiti is currently ill-equipped to handle the influx, as the country faces severe poverty, hunger, and gang violence that has displaced 1.5 million people. Meanwhile, reports indicate increased immigration enforcement in cities like Springfield, Ohio. Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, a Republican, previously criticized the deportation plans, arguing that they could harm the local economy and place returnees in grave danger, describing the situation in Haiti as 'hell.'