The Biden administration issued an order on Friday that prevents thousands of illegal immigrants from Haiti from being deported. 

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said the move was over humanitarian concerns related to ongoing conflicts in their homeland. Around 200,000 Haitians, many of whom entered the U.S. unlawfully, were already shielded from deportation with Temporary Protected Status, which has been extended by 18 months. According to the Department of Homeland Security, the order extends protections to cover approximately 309,000 more Haitians. The deportation prevention order applies to Haitians in the country on or before June 3, 2024. 

“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,” Mayorkas said. “In doing so, we are realizing the core objective of the TPS law and our obligation to fulfill it.”

A press release from the Department of Homeland Security said that Mayorkas determined the extension “is 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.”

“Several regions in Haiti continue to face violence or insecurity, and many have limited access to safety, health care, food, and water,” DHS added. “Haiti is particularly prone to flooding and mudslides, and often experiences significant damage due to storms, flooding, and earthquakes.”

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Haiti has been plagued in recent years with violence, with political leaders and missionaries being brutally killed.  In March, a team of Marines was dispatched to protect the American embassy in Haiti during an outbreak of gang violence in Port-au-Prince. 

The Biden administration has frequently used TPS to block illegal immigrants from being deported. Last year, it issued an order allowing hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants from Venezuela to stay and work in the U.S. Nearly half a million Venezuelans are estimated to be in the United States under the program. 

The Biden administration’s order comes as Republicans have pressured the president and Mayorkas to secure the southern border amid a record influx of illegal immigrants under their watch.