President Joe Biden’s administration recently announced that roughly 309,000 illegal immigrants from Haiti will be granted “temporary amnesty” in the United States.
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas announced the temporary amnesty order in a press release on Friday. The Biden administration noted that temporary amnesty would be granted to Haitians already in the United States for an additional 18 months after the Temporary Protected Status for Haitians expires on August 4.
The Department of Homeland Security claimed that the extension of temporary amnesty for Haitians was “warranted because conditions that support Haiti’s designation are ongoing and that doing so was not contrary to the national interest of the United States.”
According to The Post Millennial, hundreds of thousands of Haitians have left Haiti and fled to neighboring countries following a rapid increase in violence as gangs have overrun the country over the past year.
The Department of Homeland Security explained that multiple regions in Haiti have faced violence, insecurity, and limited access to food, water, safety, and health care.
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“Haiti is particularly prone to flooding and mudslides, and often experiences significant damage due to storms, flooding, and earthquakes,” the Department of Homeland Security stated. “These overlapping humanitarian challenges have resulted in ongoing urgent humanitarian needs.”
Announcing temporary amnesty for Haitians in the United States on Friday, Mayorkas said, “We are providing this humanitarian relief to Haitians already present in the United States given the conditions that existed in their home country as of June 3, 2024. In doing so, we are realizing the core objective of the TPS law and our obligation to fulfill it.”
According to the press release, only Haitians who entered the United States before June 3 will be eligible for the temporary amnesty extension. Any Haitians who entered the United States after June 3 and have not established a “legal basis to stay” will face potential deportation.
