For Nadine Mallebranche, the only home she’s ever known is the United States. But come this fall, she could be forced to return to Haiti—a country she fled as a child and barely remembers.
Mallebranche, now 45, escaped the political turmoil of Francois “Baby Doc” Duvalier’s regime in the late 1980s with her family. After her parents died when she was 13, she cycled through foster homes, her immigration status lost in the system. It wasn’t until Haitians were granted Temporary Protected Status (TPS) that she found stability, working legally as a store supervisor and living without fear of deportation.
“It was a lifeline,” Mallebranche told the Miami Herald. But that lifeline is now slipping away.
On Friday, the Trump administration announced the termination of TPS for over half a million Haitians in the U.S., including more than 300,000 in South Florida. The TPS designation, which granted work permits and deportation protections to Haitians fleeing dangerous conditions, is set to expire on August 3, with deportations beginning a month later.
“I’m facing potential deportation to a country that is overrun by criminal gangs,” Mallebranche said. “The only home that I know is the United States.”
Haiti, gripped by extreme violence, hunger, and political collapse, remains one of the most dangerous places in the world. So far in 2025, at least 2,700 people have been killed, with widespread gang control, sexual violence, kidnappings, and hunger displacing 1.3 million people.
Despite these conditions, the Department of Homeland Security claims Haiti is now “safe enough” for citizens to return. This comes even as the U.S. State Department warns Americans not to travel to Haiti due to gang violence, kidnappings, and limited access to basic services.
The decision sparked outrage across South Florida, home to the largest Haitian community in the country. Advocates, lawmakers, and community leaders condemned the move as cruel, dangerous, and economically harmful.
“Deporting Haitians back to Haiti is a kiss of death,” said U.S. Rep. Frederica Wilson, who represents Miami. “This ruling is hateful, inhumane, and heartless.”
Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick also raised concerns about the economic impact, noting TPS holders and their families contribute over $3.6 billion annually in federal, state, and local taxes.
Community organizations echoed these fears. “Forcing Haitians to return to Haiti right now is not just morally indefensible, it is a humanitarian catastrophe,” said Tessa Petit, executive director of the Florida Immigrant Coalition.
Homeland Security officials, however, defended the decision, saying it “restores integrity” to the immigration system and emphasized that TPS is meant to be temporary.
TPS was created by Congress in 1990 to protect people from countries experiencing war, disaster, or crisis. The Trump administration has aggressively rolled back these protections, targeting immigrants from countries like Haiti, Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela.
While litigation challenging the decision is expected, many Haitians like Mallebranche are left in limbo, facing the possibility of being sent to a country engulfed in violence and instability.
“The hands that heal you, feed you, teach your children, and serve your communities — those are Haitian hands,” said one TPS holder. “Revoking TPS is not policy. It’s human and economic sabotage.”
For now, South Florida’s Haitian community braces for what comes next. “Our community’s strength has always been rooted in resilience, unity, and the pursuit of opportunity,” said the Haitian American Chamber of Commerce. “We will stand together, no matter what.”
