The Trump administration is firing up the deportation planes in the wake of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that ended temporary protected status for Haitians.
The first deportation flight bound for Haiti had 162 deportees and left Thursday, Aug. 20, following the termination of Haiti’s TPS designation, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said.
TPS for Haiti officially ended on July 27, after the Trump administration won a legal battle to end the temporary protections for some 350,000 Haitians.
The plane landed in the northern Haitian city of Cap-Haitien, carrying TPS holders and Haitians with criminal convictions or prison sentences, said Jean Négot Bonheur Delva, director general of Haiti’s National Office of Migration, per CBS News.
While mainstream news outlets portrayed the removals as unjust, claiming the country is still dangerous, DHS highlighted some of the criminals who were removed from the country.
“On the latest deportation flight back to Haiti, we deported dangerous criminals, including pedophiles, gang members, drug traffickers , and violent assailants,” said DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin. “Despite the best efforts from activist judges, the Supreme Court reaffirmed what we already know: the T in TPS stands for TEMPORARY.”
Recent news reports have indicated that federal immigration authorities are ramping up enforcement operations in places like Ohio, the Springfield Sun News reported.
The TPS cancellation could affect an estimated 26,000 Haitian migrants in the Buckeye state. Springfield, Ohio, is home to an estimated 10,000 to 15,000 Haitian people; however, not all of them came under the TPS program.
DHS has emphasized that people with terminated TPS need to “leave now or get deported.”
In news releases and social media posts, DHS has urged Haitian nationals to self-deport. The agency is offering $2,600 in cash and free travel out of the United States as incentives.
“Those illegal aliens who don’t take advantage of this special offer today have only one alternative: They will be arrested, deported, and they will never be able to return to the United States,” DHS shared in a news release highlighting those on the deportation flight.
Among those Haitians recently removed, several gained Lawful Permanent Resident status before going on to commit heinous crimes. Some came to the United States under the Obama and Biden administrations, while others illegally entered the country at an unknown date and location, DHS officials said.
Mc Guyverson Jetin, a Zoe Pound gang member, has convictions for four counts of lewd or lascivious battery with a victim between the ages of 12 and 15 and sexual battery.
Jetin entered the United States through Florida in June 2006, and was granted Lawful Permanent Resident status in March 2007. Following his convictions, a U.S. Department of Justice immigration judge issued Jetin a final order of removal on June 19, 2018.
Davidson Athis, an 88 Crush Mob gang member, was convicted for first-degree assault, and had arrests for conspiracy to commit assault, second-degree assault, fourth-degree burglary, second-degree fraud, drug possession, reckless endangerment, trespassing, and disorderly conduct.
He illegally entered the United States at an unknown date and location. Davidson had a final order of removal issued on May 10, 2023.
Modeler Hyppolite, a Zoe Pound gang member, was convicted for second-degree assault on a pregnant woman. He illegally entered the United States through the southern border in 2024 and was released into the country by the Biden Administration.
Morel Bain’s criminal history includes a conviction for felony exploitation/enticement, and arrests for failure to register as a sex offender, obscene communication and public order crimes. He illegally entered the United States through Texas in September 2024 and was released into the country by the Biden Administration.
Ernst Joachim was granted Haitian Humanitarian Parole by the Biden Administration. His criminal history includes a conviction for sexual offense – corruption of minors and an arrest for unlawful contact with a minor.
After his parole status was terminated by the Trump administration on June 12, 2025, a DOJ immigration judge issued Joachim a final order of removal on April 13.
Jean Daniel Henry first came into the United States through Florida in 1982 as a Lawful Permanent Resident but had his status terminated after his convictions. He committed a laundry list of crimes, including burglary, larceny, possession of cocaine, selling cocaine, possession of stolen property, fraud, carrying a concealed weapon, trespassing and destroying evidence.
Elton Petit-Frere was also admitted to the United States as an LPR in 2009, but he went on to commit several serious offenses. His criminal history includes convictions for four counts of assault on a female, resisting a public officer, attempted robbery, robbery with a dangerous weapon, carrying a concealed weapon, and felon in possession of a firearm, and along with multiple arrests for other crimes. He was ordered removed on May 14.
DHS announced the termination of Haiti’s TPS designation on June 27, 2025.
A year later, on June 25, 2026, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled in a 6-3 decision that Haiti’s TPS termination could go into effect.
The justices also ruled that federal law generally bars judicial review of any future TPS designation and termination decisions.
Haiti first received a TPS designation in 2010 following a devastating earthquake, and it continued to be extended or renewed multiple times, including by the Biden administration.
President Trump unsuccessfully tried to end Haiti’s TPS in his first term, with the issue finally being settled by the Supreme Court.
U.S. District Court Judge Ana Reyes, in the District of Columbia, issued an order on Wednesday, Aug. 5 that said her February stay was no longer in effect.
“TPS was never designed to be permanent, yet previous administrations have used it as a de facto amnesty program for decades,” Mullin said. “Under the strong leadership of President Donald J. Trump, we are putting America first again.”
