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Trump says he’d revoke protected status for Haitian migrants

by Brett Samuels - 10/03/24 10:03 AM ET

Former President Trump said in a Wednesday interview with NewsNation that he would revoke the protected status of Haitian migrants and have them removed from Springfield, Ohio.

“It has nothing to do with Haiti or anything else. You have to remove the people, and you have to bring them back to their own country,” Trump told NewsNation’s Ali Bradley.

“Springfield is such a beautiful place. Have you seen what’s happened to it? It’s been overrun. You can’t do that to people. They have to be removed,” he added. “Absolutely I’d revoke [the protected status], and I’d bring them back to their country.”

The former president claimed Haiti would accept the migrants being returned to the country, which has been embroiled in turmoil, though he did not provide specifics. He has previously pledged a mass deportation effort upon taking office if he wins in November.

Many Haitians are in the U.S. under the protection of temporary protected status, which keeps people from being deported to nations in turmoil and allows them to work in the U.S.

During his term, Trump and his administration ordered the end of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for more than 300,000 immigrants, aggressively winding down the program. Trump in 2017 moved to end the TPS program for Haitians, forcing thousands to leave the country by 2019 or face deportation.

The Biden administration has restored the TPS program for many migrants, including those from Haiti. The Biden administration will allow an estimated 309,000 Haitians to remain in the U.S. through at least February 2026.

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Trump’s threat marks the furthest he has gone in his criticism of Haitian migrants, who have been caught in a political firestorm ever since Trump and his running mate, Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio), amplified debunked claims about migrants in Springfield abducting and eating pets.

Roughly 15,000 Haitian immigrants have arrived in Springfield, a city of about 60,000 people, in recent years, according to The Associated Press.

Springfield police and other city authorities denied any abductions had been reported, and City Manager Bryan Heck told The Hill the false controversy “takes away” from the city’s real struggles onboarding immigrants to social services.

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