First deportees arrive in Haiti after U.S. ends TPS protection: "They just sent me here"

More than 160 people were deported from the United States to Haiti on Thursday. It was the first deportation flight since a U.S. court allowed the government to end Temporary Protected Status, or TPS. TPS had let about 350,000 Haitians live and work legally in the United States. The flight landed in the northern city of Cap-Haitien because the main airport in the capital, Port-au-Prince, is too dangerous right now because of gang violence.

When the deportees arrived, many covered their faces so cameras could not identify them. Most refused to speak to reporters because they were afraid of being targeted by gangs. Gangs control about 70% of Port-au-Prince and large areas beyond the city. The dangerous situation in Haiti made many of the returnees fear for their safety from the moment they landed.

Jean Négot Bonheur Delva, the head of Haiti's National Office of Migration, said the group included TPS holders and people who had served prison sentences in the U.S. He noted that some deportees were not even born in Haiti, though they have Haitian backgrounds. One man was born in the Dominican Republic and said he knew almost nothing about Haiti. The Haitian government said it would try to help him reconnect with his family, including his parents who still live in the Dominican Republic.

The Haitian government gave each deportee up to $65 in cash, plus food and water. Anyone who could not travel home that day was placed in a safe location overnight. Officials promised the process would continue until every person returned home. However, the journey home will be very difficult for many, since gangs control key roads and sometimes shoot at passing vehicles.

One deportee, Jean Diane Louis, briefly spoke to reporters after arriving. He said he left Haiti when he was 5 years old and that his family lives in New York City. He said he spent 19 years in prison for a crime he claims he did not commit, and then immigration agents sent him to Haiti without explanation. 'They just sent me here,' he said.

Back in the United States, immigration agents arrested a popular Haitian pastor named Gilbert Joubert Adrien at a gas station in Springfield, Ohio. A second Haitian man with him was also arrested. Springfield is a city of about 60,000 people that became well known during the 2024 campaign when President Trump and Vice President JD Vance falsely claimed Haitian residents were eating dogs. Immigration agents have had a strong presence in the city in recent days.

Ohio's Republican Governor Mike DeWine has spoken out against the deportations. He said sending Haitians back was a 'mistake' that could hurt Ohio's economy and put people in danger. He noted that Haitian immigrants have filled jobs and opened businesses in Springfield, helping the city recover. 'Haiti is hell today. So you'd be sending people ... back to hell,' DeWine said.

Aid groups in Haiti are also raising the alarm. Haiti's Group Supporting Refugees and Returnees said the country is 'not ready' to receive this many returning people. The group noted that more than 140,000 Haitians had already been deported from nearby countries, including the Dominican Republic, in just the first half of this year. It warned there are no government programs in place to properly help them.

The situation in Haiti is already very serious. The United Nations reported more than 3,100 people were killed in Haiti between January and June this year, and 1,189 more were injured. Gang violence has forced about 1.5 million people out of their homes. More than half of Haiti's nearly 12 million people need humanitarian assistance, meaning they need food, shelter, or other basic support to survive.