ICE deported over 160 individuals to Haiti on Thursday in the wake of the US Supreme Court’s decision to uphold the administrative repeal of temporary protected status (TPS) for roughly 330,000 Haitians, despite pervasive gang violence throughout the country.

The charter flight landed in the northern city of Cap-Haïtien, instead of capital Port-au-Prince, as gangs reportedly control roughly 70 percent of the capital city and surrounding areas. Officials reportedly feared arriving deportees would quickly become gang targets. According to the director general of Haiti’s National Office of Migration, Jean Négot Bonheur Delva, among the deportees were former TPS holders, as well as individuals who previously served prison sentences, and even people of Haitian decent but born elsewhere.

Multiple humanitarian groups have called for deportations to Haiti to halt immediately, arguing that the nation is too dangerous, particularly for women and children. The US State Department continues to list Haiti as a “Do not travel” country in its Travel Advisory report.

The deportation marks the first act of removal to Haiti following President Donald Trump’s revocation of TPS for Haitian immigrants. The program had previously allowed individuals to live and work in the US for 18 month increments as a way to seek protection from violence and social upheaval within Haiti.

In June, the Supreme Court upheld the administrative decision to end the program, reasoning that the decision came under sole executive discretion. Dissenting judges argued that under closer examination, certain Trump statements about Haitian migrants revealed racially charged motivations for ending the program, which allow the court to more closely scrutinize the executive action. The ruling overturned a federal appellate court decision in January that struck down the administrative action on grounds that then-Homeland Security director Kristi Noem had exceeded congressionally authorized executive authority.

In 2024, then-candidate Trump falsely claimed that Haitians in Springfield, Ohio, regularly abducted and ate local pets. The comments created national controversy and multiple lawsuits. Following the Supreme Court’s ruling, ICE activity in the Springfield region has reportedly increased, and many individuals in Haitian communities across the country have reportedly hid from public life out of fear of ICE detainment.

Haiti has suffered from deteriorating social, legal, and institutional structures for years, punctuated by the resignation of Prime Minister Ariel Henry in March 2024 and subsequent installation of a transitional government, following increased gang-control of the country. In response to the crisis, the UN created a multi-nation Gang Suppression Force to curb gang violence in September 2025.

Despite the efforts, the country continues to face civilian massacres, child trafficking, mass displacement, and deteriorating of the rule of law. According to the UN, over 1.5 million people have been displaced and over 3,100 people have been killed between January and June 2026.