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Haitian bishop concerned over end of US protected status for immigrants
Bishop Pierre-André Dumas of Anse-à-Veau-Miragoâne, expresses his concern for Haitian immigrants in the US, following the termination of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for them. TPS is a measure designed to welcome and protect people from countries where wars, natural disasters, and serious humanitarian crises make it impossible to return them safely.
By Federico Piana
“What do you mean we are criminals?” Emma has been asking herself this question ever since the United States administration terminated Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haitian immigrants.
TPS is a measure intended to welcome and protect people from countries where wars, natural disasters, and difficult humanitarian situations prevent them from being safely returned. As long as these crises persist, immigrants can legally remain in the United States, obtain work permits, and avoid forced deportation.
Now the Supreme Court and a federal court in Washington D.C.—the former in June and the latter in August of this year—have approved cancellation of the measure, making the threat of deportation increasingly real for the 331,000 Haitians who benefit from TPS.
Haitian activists in New York (2026 Getty Images)
Emma’s testimony
Emma is a pseudonym used to protect her anonymity and allow her to testify to Vatican News about what she is experiencing.
She explained that the surveillance and arrests of many Haitians by ICE agents—the federal agency responsible for enforcing U.S. immigration laws—are experienced by her entire community as a “cruel hunt,” because “those agents even proudly display people in handcuffs as though they were prey.”
Confidential documents reviewed and reported by several international media outlets have revealed that the U.S. administration is preparing to increase deportation flights to Haiti, from one per month to two per week. The goal is to repatriate as many Haitian immigrants as possible within a short period of time.
A desire for stability
Emma arrived in Miami several years ago. She now has four children, all born in the United States and all American citizens. She managed to find a good job after leaving behind her shattered country, after abandoning everything to start from scratch.
“You came looking for us in our homeland because you needed us to work according to your needs, and in the end we find ourselves wearing an electronic ankle monitor, as if we were ordinary criminals,” she said.
“We left our nation, born from the struggle for freedom, simply because we saw the United States as a land of opportunity.”
Family members hold funeral for victims of Kenscoff gang attack in Haiti
Fear and distress
Every time Emma leaves the house, her children become extremely anxious.
“They are constantly on alert. If I step outside the door, they are afraid that I might be stopped and taken away by ICE agents. If I stay home and the doorbell rings, they jump. My children live with the constant fear that they may never see their parents again,” she continued. “In their hearts, the same terrible question keeps coming back: ‘Who will take care of us if Mom or Dad never comes back?’”
US: TPS for Haitians is contrary to the national interest
Following a review by the Department of Homeland Security, the Secretary of State officially explained that TPS for Haitians should be terminated because “there are no extraordinary and temporary conditions in Haiti that prevent Haitian nationals […] from returning in safety. Moreover, even if the Department found that there existed conditions that were extraordinary and temporary that prevented Haitian nationals […] from returning in safety, termination of Temporary Protected Status of Haiti is still required because it is contrary to the national interest.”
Haiti gripped by bloodshed and insecurity
But Haiti is not a safe country. During the night of August 23–24, in the hills east of the capital, Port-au-Prince, yet another gang attack resulted in a massacre. More than 47 people were killed, according to the United Nations, and dozens of men and women were kidnapped.
This is not an isolated incident, but rather a symptom of endemic violence compounded by severe political instability and immense poverty.
Bishop Dumas’ heartfelt appeal to Trump
“The question is: Is Haiti really a country today to which someone can be sent back without concern? Reality gives us a dramatic answer,” said Bishop Pierre-André Dumas, bishop of the Haitian Diocese of Anse-à-Veau-Miragoâne and vice president of the country’s Bishops’ Conference.
Speaking to Vatican News, he said he could not remain silent, and a few days ago, he took pen to paper and sent an appeal to President Donald Trump.
“Mr President,” he wrote, “we respectfully ask you to reconsider the situation of Haitians affected by the termination of TPS and to use every legal and humanitarian means available to prevent forced returns as long as Haiti remains in such a condition of grave instability and danger.”
“Haitian TPS beneficiaries work, pay taxes, raise their children, serve their churches and communities, and contribute to American society every day,” Bishop Dumas continued. “Many of them are mothers and fathers of children born in the United States who are American citizens.”
“We are not asking the United States to abandon its laws. We are not asking the United States to give up border security. We are asking the United States to apply its laws with humanity when human lives are at stake.”
Bishop Pierre-André Dumas of Anse-à-Veau-Miragoâne
The Church defending migrants
Bishop Dumas has still not fully recovered from the assassination attempt carried out against him in Port-au-Prince in 2024, when one of the armed gangs operating in the country tried to kill him because of his commitment to peace and reconciliation.
He is still recovering in Florida, where he followed with hope the mission carried out in Washington at the end of July by Cardinal Chibly Langlois, bishop of Les Cayes in Haiti; Archbishop Robert Gerald Casey of Cincinnati; Bishop Jacques Fabre of Charleston; and Archbishop Thomas Gerard Wenski of Miami.
They met with individual senators to seek support for a proposal to extend TPS for all beneficiaries by three years.
Bishop Dumas explained that this gesture “represented a great sign of episcopal fraternity, ecclesial courage, and concrete solidarity,” expressing the Church’s position in the US defence of migrants’ dignity and their right to a full and peaceful life.
Elizabeth and her fears
Elizabeth is also a pseudonym. Like Emma, she immigrated to the United States from Haiti many years ago and is the mother of children who were all born in the United States. They, too, are American citizens.
Like Emma, she asks to remain anonymous to tell her story because she fears retaliation by ICE: “You never know what they might do to you.”
Together with her husband, she has worked tirelessly to rebuild their lives there. Despite the difficulties, they both returned to school, using their savings to earn academic qualifications.
“This year we achieved our academic goals, and our eldest son started university, inspired by the example we have tried to set for him,” she said.
“The end of TPS has brought profound uncertainty and great pain into our lives. It is as though all the sacrifices we have made and the stability we have built with so much effort have suddenly been put at risk.”
Like Emma, Elizabeth wonders how it is possible that, from one day to the next, they can be monitored, stopped, arrested, and deported to Haiti after spending years “teaching our children to love the United States, to respect the country that hosts us, and the people we come into contact with.”
Ultimately, for both women, the question remains the same:
“What do you mean we are criminals?”
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