The United States faces growing criticism over its approach to Haiti amid worsening instability and ongoing debates about immigration policy. Last month, the Supreme Court allowed the Trump administration to move forward with ending Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for over 330,000 Haitians residing in the U.S. under legal protection. The administration argues that conditions in Haiti have improved enough to permit safe returns. However, the U.S. State Department continues to advise American citizens against travel to Haiti, citing pervasive gang violence, kidnappings, and political turmoil.

Haiti has been grappling with near-total state collapse following decades of disasters and political upheaval. The 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse plunged the country deeper into crisis, with armed gangs now controlling an estimated 80 to 90 percent of the capital, Port-au-Prince, and extensive parts of the country. This violence severely restricts commerce, humanitarian aid deliveries, and basic government functions, while displacing over one million people.

Experts with deep experience in disaster response have asserted that the crisis cannot be resolved by removing Haitians who have built lives in the U.S. Migrants under TPS contribute significantly to the U.S. economy, filling critical roles in sectors such as health care. Deportations risk exacerbating Haiti’s humanitarian crisis by cutting off remittances that many Haitian families depend on, and potentially enlarging the ranks of gang recruitment.

International interventions aimed at stabilizing Haiti have largely fallen short. The Kenyan-led security mission, deployed starting in June 2024 to support Haitian police and facilitate governance, suffered from insufficient staffing and resources. As a result, it failed to stem gang expansion. Recently, the U.N. Security Council authorized a new international Gang Suppression Force with a more active mandate to target criminal groups. Yet experts caution that unless this force operates within a comprehensive, Haitian-led strategy and is properly equipped, it may replicate prior failures.

One of the major challenges is the limitation of U.S. security assistance to Haitian forces, partly due to legal restrictions such as the Leahy Law, which bars aid to units implicated in human rights violations. These constraints have hindered the Haitian security apparatus from effectively regaining control over its territory.

Meanwhile, the legal status of Haitian TPS holders remains precarious. A federal appeals court recently extended employment authorization for beneficiaries amid ongoing litigation, but the ultimate expiration of protections looms. Critics argue that ending TPS amid Haiti’s ongoing instability is counterproductive, potentially fueling instability and unauthorized migration rather than alleviating it.

Calls are mounting for the U.S. government to reconsider its policies, urging Congress to establish a permanent legislative solution for Haitian TPS holders and the administration to eliminate barriers impeding Haiti’s capacity-building efforts in security and governance. Advocates stress that sustainable stability in Haiti requires strengthening its institutions and security forces, a process that must be led and maintained by Haitians themselves.