In middle school, I was blessed with my first opportunity to travel to Haiti on a mission trip. Our team helped a local organization meet the needs of a village. It was certainly an eye-opening experience. On one hand, I witnessed true devastation and abject poverty. Haiti was still suffering from the massive 2010 earthquake, and even years later, during my other visits, the damage remained evident. On the other hand, I befriended people who, despite their circumstances, found joy as they worked to better their lives.

Unfortunately, the Haiti I once knew is gone.

In 2021, Haitian President Jovenel Moise was assassinated, and subsequently the government was overthrown. The vacuum the government left behind was filled by numerous armed gangs. These gangs control nearly all the major population centers, making much of the country extremely dangerous to Haitians and foreigners alike. Kidnappings and murders spiked, and many people I knew didn’t survive the onslaught of gang violence. Nearly a million people were internally displaced.

In response, as with the calamitous earthquake, the United States designated Haiti as an eligible Temporary Protected Status country. Over 300,000 Haitians were granted temporary protections to live and work in the U.S., provided they didn’t break the law. This status can be extended until Haiti is deemed a safe country to return to.

However, when Donald Trump ran for reelection in 2024, he notably referenced the protected Haitian population in Springfield, Ohio, claiming that “they’re eating the dogs” and committing various other crimes that terrorized the small town. While most Americans didn’t take this statement seriously, meming this moment until the cows came home, it did become the basis for a real campaign promise.

In 2025, the Department of Homeland Security announced that it would terminate Haitian TPS. While this led to a long, drawn-out fight in the courts, the Supreme Court picked up the case and ruled that this decision was not judicially reviewable, allowing the Trump administration and Homeland Security to end TPS for Haiti.

Since then, formerly protected Haitians have been laid off from their jobs and fitted with ankle monitors as they are being prepared to be deported from the United States.

While this move advances Trump’s immigration agenda, it will have undesirable consequences.

The United States let thousands of Haitians cross our borders legally and set agreed-upon conditions for their stay. They are noncitizens who can stay temporarily until the situation in Haiti improves. Those who broke the conditions lost that right and were forced to leave. Whether you agree with our country taking on that responsibility or not, it did happen, and America has a vested interest in keeping these people safe.

Sending the protected Haitians back to Haiti will have the opposite effect.

The situation in Haiti has not improved since the gangs invaded the country, and in many cases it’s only gotten worse. Thousands have been murdered every year, and many more have been kidnapped. Outside forces have failed to stabilize the country due to underfunding or negligence. Haiti has retained its place in the Do Not Travel category of the U.S. Travel Advisory.

In short, we shouldn’t send any law-abiding refugees back to Haiti.

Furthermore, with Homeland Security publicly announcing deportations, the gangs will know and welcome the economic potential that those who formerly lived in America would bring. Publicity and the gained material wealth might put massive targets on their backs, on top of the fact that many had escaped the gangs once before, and it stands to reason that this would be grounds for “punishment.” It may be like sending lambs to the slaughter.

We should deport illegal aliens and noncitizens who commit crimes, but most Haitians do not fall into that category. This country has taken responsibility for the general well-being of Haitians escaping violence. It must be mindful of the lives that are at stake here, or else there could be dire consequences.