Trump Admin. To Drop Protection For Haitian Earthquake Survivors

WASHINGTON, DC — When a massive earthquake shook the island nation of Haiti in 2010, an estimated 100,000 people were killed and hundreds of thousands of homes were destroyed, devastating an already-impoverished country of millions. On Monday night, nearly 60,000 Haitians living in the United States with temporary protected status since the earthquake faced upheaval once again as the Department of Homeland Security announced that these immigrants will be expected to leave the country within 18 months.

"The decision to terminate TPS for Haiti was made after a review of the conditions upon which the country’s original designation were based and whether those extraordinary but temporary conditions prevented Haiti from adequately handling the return of their nationals, as required by statute," the department said in a press release.

It had previously been reported that the temporary protected status for Haitians was being evaluated. It was initially granted on humanitarian grounds to help Haitians recover from the earthquake. Those with protected status were allowed to live and work in the United States without fear of deportation.

Many advocates for immigrants quickly decried the Trump administration's decision to end the program.

“Ripping 50,000 Haitians from communities across the United States and sending them back to a country that still hasn’t recovered from the dire conditions that qualified it for TPS in the first place is another heartless decision made by the Trump Administration," said Amanda Baran, policy consultant at the Immigrant Legal Resource Center.

She continued: "A mere six months ago, then-DHS Secretary John Kelly decided to extend TPS for Haiti, noting the extensive damage Hurricane Matthew left in its wake and, since then, the island was hit by two more hurricanes--Irma and Maria--further damaging Haiti’s infrastructure and displacing thousands."

“Although the Administration granted Haitians another 18 months in the United States, the conditions on the ground clearly merit continuing TPS coverage, rather than terminating this essential, life-saving designation," said the Congressional Black Caucus in a statement. “While campaigning in Miami, then-candidate Donald Trump called Haitian-Americans hard-working, creative, and industrious, and promised to be their ‘greatest champion.’ Today, Donald Trump broke that promise."

DHS said in its statement that Haiti has made large strides since the earthquake. It said that the number of people who have been displaced by the natural disaster has fallen 97 percent.

Watch: US Ending Temporary Permits For Haitians

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