Canada urged to welcome Haitians fleeing U.S. deportations as Trump ends protected status
Advocates are calling on the Canadian government to modify the Safe Third Country Agreement to allow Haitian refugees fleeing U.S. deportation to seek asylum. Many Haitians in the U.S. are currently living in fear after the administration ended their Temporary Protected Status.
Why it matters
The policy change highlights the intersection of U.S. immigration enforcement and Canadian asylum obligations, impacting the lives of thousands of displaced individuals.
Thierry Jean-Baptiste works at the Bureau de la communauté haïtienne de Montréal (BCHM). He says that fear of deportation means some Haitians in the U.S. are avoiding leaving their homes. (Courtesy/Thierry Jean-Baptiste) “They're real stressed. They don't go out. They stay in their apartment,” said Thierry Jean-Baptiste of the Bureau de la communauté haïtienne de Montréal (BCHM).
“They order groceries. They are in fear of ICE.”
This comes after the U.S. Supreme Court cleared the way last month for President Donald Trump's administration to strip hundreds of thousands of Haitian and Syrian immigrants of a humanitarian status — called Temporary Protected Status (TPS) — which protects them from deportation.
The U.S. first provided TPS to Haitians after a major earthquake in 2010.
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