by Onz Chéry
A United States deportation flight carrying 136 people, including individuals who previously held Temporary Protected Status (TPS) or permanent residency, arrived in Cap-Haitien Thursday, according to Haiti’s National Office of Migration (ONM). About 10 women and five children were on the flight, the second to arrive in the northern city in 2026.
The children were removed alongside family members who were being expelled, ONM officials told The Haitian Times. The adults have been convicted of committing crimes, some of which appear to have stemmed from immigration-related offenses.
“It always hurts when they arrive,” said Frandy Étienne, an ONM regional manager. “They often tell us they spent a long time in prison and were mistreated. These are human beings. Hearing my compatriots’ suffering is painful.”
The first flight, also carrying 136 Haitians, arrived on Jan. 8, Étienne said.
The deportations come amid heightened pressure to carry out the Trump administration’s mass deportation quotas and limit migration from certain countries, including Haiti. Just last week, more than 350,000 faced possible deportation after the federal government moved to end TPS protections for Haitians on Feb. 3. U.S. District Judge Ana C. Reyes blocked that effort, preventing the immediate termination of TPS for people.
Several prominent Haitians are also facing possible deportation as the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) ramped up detentions and arrests in recent months. Among the high-profile subjects are Carel Pedre, the media personality, and business heads Pierre Réginald Boulos and Dimitri Vorbe. All three are currently in ICE custody in Miami.
Hervé Laplante, a social media blogger, was sent back to Haiti on July 16 for fraudulently obtaining legal status. Laplante later left Haiti for Canada.
The Feb. 5 flight landed around 3 p.m., and deportees were processed at the northern police headquarters before being released. ONM said returnees received basic assistance, including meals, to help with their reintegration.
“We don’t really have another country,” Étienne said. “We only have Haiti. Haitians need to start rebuilding their country, so we stop being humiliated by others.”
Source: US deports 136 Haitians, including TPS and Green Card holders with their children
