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

Key Points:

• The U.S. deported over 160 people to Haiti on Thursday, marking the first such flight since the Trump administration ended Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for some 350,000 Haitians, following a Supreme Court ruling allowing the program's termination.
• Due to ongoing gang violence and a U.S. ban on commercial flights to Port-au-Prince, the deportees landed in Cap-Haitien, a northern city, with many fearing gang retaliation amid Haiti's severe security crisis.
• The deportees included TPS holders and Haitians who served prison sentences, some of whom were not born in Haiti but are of Haitian descent; Haitian officials provided limited assistance, including small financial aid and shelter for those unable to reach home immediately.
• Activists and local groups have condemned the deportations, citing Haiti's dire conditions with rampant gang violence, displacement of 1.5 million people, and inadequate resources to support returnees, warning the country is not prepared to receive the deported migrants.
• In the U.S., Haitian migrants continue to face arrests and deportations, with local leaders in places like Springfield, Ohio, criticizing the policy for disrupting communities and harming the local economy, while deportees express fear and despair over being sent back to a dangerous homeland.