22-07-2025
US to Deport Legal Haitian Permanent Residents in Latest Immigrant Crackdown
Rabat – The Trump administration announced on Monday that it will deport Haitians living in the US as permanent residents, with claims of gang links.
This announcement comes during US President Donald Trump's massive push in deportation policy, causing visa regulations and immigration policies to become more stringent.
Marco Rubio made the statement during a speech, stating 'certain individuals within the U.S. lawful permanent resident status have supported and collaborated with Haitian gang leaders connected to Viv Assanm.'
In May, the Trump administration designated Viv Assanm as a terrorist organization. The union of gangs controls much of the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince, with reports that they have perpetrated widespread violence and crimes.
Gangs and criminal organizations have been in control of the majority of Haiti since 2021, after the assassination of the Haitian president. A UN report released this year detailed that in 2024, over 5,601 people were killed in the country as a result of gang-related violence, calling to attention the alarming crime epidemic that has been sweeping certain areas of the country.
However, this decision has allowed the US administration to end the legal status of any Haitians whom they accuse of being involved. Under the law, the administration can deport anyone whom they believe could be a threat to national security.
The Haitian community living within the United States has been targeted on numerous occasions over the last year. The president has previously referred to the country as a 'shithole' and accused Haitians of stealing and eating pets in Springfield, Ohio, during the 2024 presidential debates.
The administration has removed legal protected status from many Haitians, including one granted under a special program implemented during the Biden Administration that gave 200,000 people sanctuary. The current US State Secretary of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem, has declared that the Caribbean nation no longer fulfills the requirement for temporary protected status.
Human rights organizations and activists warn that this decision could be open to widespread abuse, with fears that many innocent Haitian nationals will be deported unlawfully despite not having a clear link to the Port-au-Prince gangs.
This move adds to the larger wave of the current US administration removing Green Card and legal residency status from vulnerable people who are in imminent danger if forced to return back to their home countries.
