US Expands Temporary Protection Assistance To Work Permits For 309 Thousand Haitians

UNSPLASH/Eid ILLUSTRATION Hutchinson

JAKARTA - The Joe Biden administration will expand deportation assistance and work permits to around 309,000 Haitians.

The US Department of Homeland Security said the government would expand access to the Temporary Protection Status program for Haitians until February 2026 due to violent and security concerns in Haiti.

This expanded program will be available to Haitians in the US on or before June 3.

About 264,000 Haitians in the US are already covered by this program, according to the US government.

US President Joe Biden is taking a difficult political path in terms of immigration, by seeking to improve security on the US-Mexico border and taking a more humane approach to immigrants in the US illegally.

In a presidential debate, Republican challenger Biden, former President Donald Trump, criticized Biden for failing to stem the high level of illegal immigration.

The gang war in Haiti has displaced more than half a million people and nearly five million people are facing severe food insecurity.

Armed groups, which now control most of the capital, have formed a broad alliance while committing massive killings, kidnappings for ransom, and sexual violence.