Ismael is already feeling the pressure of rising prices in Haiti. In a World Food Program video, she blamed everything from the price of a “tap-tap” bus ride to the cost of putting dinner on the table to soaring fuel prices related to the Iran war.
But those who managed to escape their impoverished, violence-ravaged countries and make a living for themselves in the United States are helping those back home to make ends meet. In one of the world’s most remittance-dependent countries, that money is a lifeline for many.
This could come to a significant halt if the U.S. Supreme Court allows the Trump administration to end Temporary Protected Status (TPS), a status that allows them to legally live and work in the United States, for more than 350,000 Haitians.
In February, the U.S. Supreme Court suspended the government’s termination of TPS, an immigration status granted to people from certain countries whose citizens are temporarily unable to return home safely.
The court will begin oral arguments on Wednesday after the Trump administration appeals the decision.
Ahead of its planned termination early this year, the Department of Homeland Security said the program for Haiti was “never intended to be a de facto asylum program, but that is how successive administrations have used it for decades.”
If the Supreme Court rules in the regime’s favor, opening the door to deportation for hundreds of thousands of Haitians, “it would be like having the rug pulled out from under them,” said Amy Fisher, director of refugee and immigrant rights at Amnesty International USA.
“We know we can’t safely deport people to Haiti,” Fisher said.
Gang attacks continue to shock the country, including a spate of deadly assaults in Haiti’s Artibonite region last month. Dozens of people have been killed and thousands have fled their homes, pushing Haiti’s existing displacement crisis to the brink.
And earlier this month, an armed attack on a police station in the Marigot commune in the south of the country left at least six people dead, police said.
Haitian rights groups like Defenders Plus say violence has reached areas once considered “havens of peace.” In some cases, armed groups have blocked roads and key supply routes, making access to essential goods nearly impossible.
Rachelle Arnoux, CARE’s Interim Country Director for Haiti, said communities continue to face daily challenges accessing food, water and basic services due to widespread insecurity.
Jérôme Fritsch, a doctor at the MSF hospital in Cité Soleil, says gang violence prevents people from getting the medical care they need. Two weeks ago, he said rival armed groups were fighting and violence escalated, calling it the worst his team had seen in the region in two years.
The violence continued until last Wednesday, but the team remains vigilant. Be prepared to seek shelter and move the patient away from potentially exposed windows if necessary.
“I don’t know if it’s going to start again tomorrow,” he says.
And for millions of Haitians, food insecurity has reached alarming levels. According to recent Integrated Food Security Stage Classification (IPC) projections for March to June 2026, 52% of the population experiences high levels of severe food insecurity.
Haiti’s recent devastating floods only exacerbate the country’s overlapping crises. The U.N. Humanitarian Office said this month that rains had caused severe flooding in the northwest, killing at least 12 people and inundating more than 1,000 homes, displacing people and leading to the loss of agriculture and livelihoods.
“Deportation is not an option at this point,” said Geerline Joseph, president of the Haiti Bridge Alliance, an advocacy group focused on immigration issues faced by black immigrants.
Rights groups have warned that if TPS holders are stripped of their status and forced into exile, the consequences could be dire. Thousands of TPS holders will lose the lives they have built for themselves in the United States, while millions of Haitians who return home will have their lives changed forever, potentially falling further into extreme poverty, hunger, and displacement.
“If we cut the ties that allow Haitians in the United States to transfer their funds, we can only predict that more people will be forced to leave Haiti in search of safety and stability,” Fisher warned.
About 750,000 households in Haiti receive remittances from Haitians living in the United States, said Manuel Orozco, director of the Inter-American Dialogue’s migration, remittances and development program. About 40% of U.S. remitters are likely using TPS, he said.
For some, it is their only income and the only way to buy food and medicine.
According to the Inter-American Dialogue, the value of Haitian immigration has increased from 12% of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2012 to more than a quarter in 2022.
According to the think tank, remittances are Haiti’s main source of foreign exchange, and the funds “mainly serve to sustain personal consumption, pay school and medical expenses, and ultimately lead to improving the country’s human development outcomes and reducing the incidence of poverty.”
At this month’s UN Security Council meeting on Haiti, leaders acknowledged that there had been some progress in the security situation, even if it was an oceanic decline. A new multinational force, known as the Anti-Gang Force, has been launched with U.S. support and aims to stabilize Haiti and eventually allow the country to function without foreign troops.
But funding an international force while opening the door to mass deportations of TPS holders could be counterproductive to that objective, if the courts so decide.
Experts say mass deportations will only further strain the country’s already strained resources, facilities and infrastructure, and increase the number of people struggling to make a living.
