Haiti
THE CRISIS
Environmental catastrophe, political and gang violence, and the consequences of hundreds of years of colonialism and imperialism have increasingly displaced Haitians from their homes. Kidnappings and killings are rampant, and most are unable to make a living or lead ordinary lives due to the instability. In this context, nearly 200,000 Haitians have come to the U.S. border seeking asylum since 2020.
“The gang killed the client’s neighbor, who had been trying to protect the client by denying that he was home. Killing the neighbor was a message to the client – ‘you’re next’ – and it shows how anybody, even someone without any political affiliation, could become a victim of political violence.”
- Ralph Olivier Pierre, Haitian Creole Co-Lead
The U.S. government subjects Haitians in crisis to mass expulsion, detention, family separation, and racist abuse. The Biden administration has deported as many Haitians as the last 3 presidents combined. Meanwhile, at the U.S.-Mexico border, where many Haitians enter the country, all asylum seekers are required to schedule their interviews through the faulty and error-ridden CBP One App, which is not translated properly into Haitian Kreyol.
Why TPS for Haiti Matters - and What’s at Stake
Temporary Protected Status (TPS) is a temporary immigration status provided by the U.S. government to eligible nationals of designated countries experiencing ongoing armed conflict, environmental disasters, epidemics, or other extraordinary conditions that make returning home unsafe. Established by Congress in 1990, TPS allows beneficiaries to live and work legally in the United States for a limited time, protecting them from deportation and authorizing employment. The designation, granted by the Secretary of Homeland Security, typically lasts six, twelve, or eighteen months, with decisions on extension or termination made at least 60 days before expiration.
How Haiti Was Granted TPS in the First Place
In January 2010, a magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck near Port-au-Prince, killing over 200,000 people and displacing more than a million. The destruction was overwhelming—homes, schools, and hospitals crumbled, and essential services were lost. In response to this humanitarian crisis, the U.S. government designated Haiti for TPS, offering temporary legal protection to Haitians already in the United States so they would not be forced to return to an unlivable situation.
The Situation in Haiti Today
Sadly, the conditions in Haiti have worsened dramatically since the earthquake. Armed gangs now control large areas of the country, especially in and around the capital. Gang violence has become a daily threat, with kidnappings, extortion, and killings on the rise. Many families live in constant fear as gangs burn homes, steal belongings, and force people to flee with nowhere safe to go. All of this unfolds amid the collapse—or near total absence—of a functioning political system.
Basic necessities such as food, clean water, fuel and internet access are scarce or unaffordable due to inflation and widespread instability. Many schools remain closed, and banks are either shut down or closely watched by gangs who rob the customers. In some areas, people have no access to banking services at all. Everyday life is deeply insecure.
The healthcare system has collapsed under this violence. Armed gangs have looted and destroyed hospitals and clinics, including the Hôpital Saint-François de Sales in Carrefour Feuilles—a vital medical center that was ransacked and rendered inoperable. Private clinics run by local doctors have also been attacked, with many looted, vandalized, or burned. Tragically, some medical professionals have been killed or forced to abandon their work out of fear. Patients needing urgent care now face life-threatening obstacles.
Cultural landmarks have not been spared. On July 6, 2025, the iconic Hôtel Oloffson which was built around 1886, a historic hotel in Port-au-Prince known for its vibrant cultural significance and as a gathering place for artists and intellectuals, was destroyed in an arson attack by armed gangs. This loss is not only symbolic of Haiti’s rich heritage but also of the nation’s ongoing crisis, where violence threatens every aspect of daily life.
The Closing of the Marriott Port-au-Prince Hotel
In April 2025, the Marriott Hotel located in Port-au-Prince—one of the last international hotel chains operating in Haiti—closed its doors due to the escalating violence and political instability. This closure affected about 100 employees who depended on the hotel for their livelihoods and highlighted the broader collapse of sectors like tourism, which once offered hope for economic recovery. Other hotels across the country were also looted or destroyed, further underscoring the devastating impact on the industry.
What Does “Precariousness” Mean for Haitians?
For people living in Haiti, “precariousness” isn’t just economic—it’s a state of constant fear and uncertainty. It means waking up not knowing if you’ll be able to find food, send your children to school, or go to work safely. It means living with the terrifying possibility of kidnapping, violence, or death. Precariousness is fear, instability, and the constant pressure of surviving day to day.
How TPS Has Helped Haitians Rebuild
TPS has been a vital source of protection and stability for thousands of Haitians in the United States. It has enabled them to work legally, contribute to their communities, and support families both here and back home. TPS provides a shield against deportation, allowing families to stay together and giving them a chance to build safer, more secure futures.
The Haitian Humanitarian Parole (HHP part of the larger CHNV (Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans) Humanitarian Parole Program), established under the Biden administration in 2023, has further extended protections to newer arrivals, complementing the TPS population that has lived in the U.S. since 2010. Together, these programs represent hope and safety for many Haitians facing unimaginable risks.
What Happens If TPS Is Not Renewed?
Currently, over 160,000 Haitians benefit from TPS in the United States. However, the program’s future remains uncertain. The U.S. government has stopped new TPS designations and renewals for Haiti and other countries, claiming that Haiti’s political and economic conditions have improved. Yet this stands in stark contrast to reality—the U.S. Embassy in Port-au-Prince is closed, and the State Department has issued a strong travel advisory warning Americans not to travel to Haiti at all.
The critical question is: What options remain available for Haitians seeking safety and stability in the U.S.? It’s important to remember that TPS is not a permanent immigration status nor a pathway to residency or citizenship; it is a temporary safeguard that can be revoked at any time. This means that individuals who have built lives here—working, raising families, and contributing to society—could suddenly face deportation and separation from their U.S.-born children. Ending TPS would not only disrupt lives but put them in direct danger.
Final Thoughts
While TPS was never meant to be permanent, any decision to end it must be made with humanity and respect for the ongoing crisis in Haiti. With widespread violence, hunger, and lawlessness still rampant, stripping away protections now would be both reckless and cruel.
Increasing fees while reducing access to vital protections sends a devastating message to the communities who depend on TPS for survival. Policies must reflect the harsh realities on the ground and uphold the dignity and safety of those affected.
TPS may be temporary by law—but the lives it protects are real. Those lives deserve lasting safety, stability, and respect.
OUR INTERVENTIONS
For years, Respond’s Haitian Kreyol team has mobilized in both rapid response and long-term projects to support Haitian people in Haiti and in migration. Our direct service interventions have included working directly with people navigating refugee and resettlement processes; we have financially compensated and built workforce development pipelines for Haitian language practitioners; and we have contributed to widespread systems change targeting the basis of violence and instability in Haiti.
DIRECT SERVICE
Our Haitian Kreyol team has supported over 1,200 translation and interpretation cases for Haitians forced to flee Haiti, both before and after the assassination of Haiti’s authoritarian, United States-backed president in 2021, which has only deepened the country’s political and humanitarian crisis.
1,314 cases
1,576 pages
4,056 hours interpreted
630,280 words translated
$577,234.44 value
$376,299.33 paid
1,239 people served
“Before we started working with Respond interpreters, we were barely able to reach Haitians and other communities at the border due to the language gap. Since we started working with Respond, we have paroled well over a thousand Haitian migrants into the US, and helped countless others access crucial information and resources in Mexico like shelter, food, and medical care.”
– Al Otro Lado
"One of the most challenging cases I have worked on was when our team provided dozens of hours of interpreting for a Haitian asylum seeking mother whose baby had been ripped from her arms at the border. As a Haitian mother myself, there was no deeper gratification than the moment she won her asylum case."
- JoAnn Gustave, Haitian Creole Team Translator
A Haitian man being represented by Lawyers for Good Government received a Withholding of Removal (WOR) under the Convention Against Torture and was released from immigration detention and reunited with his wife and little girl on Christmas Eve! Respond translated the client's declaration, and made it possible for him and his lawyer, Jessica Riley, to communicate.
"This was my first time representing a Haitian client in court, and I learned so much from all of you. From your team members who would explain not only what words meant but relevant cultural context, to you giving such valuable feedback on our written translations, your support was invaluable. Because of your help, not only is this client free, but I feel more prepared to take on the next case."
- Jessica
WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT
Our Haitian Kreyol team is comprised of 41 language practitioners who are all Haitian, many in diaspora in the United States and Mexico and others still in Haiti, and who rely on this work for their income.
52 team members (linguists)/5 on leadership
7 countries
30 of jobs created (paid positions)
$148,606.45 paid out to linguists
“My name is Dahlia and I am one of the interpreters on the Haitian Creole team as well as a medical school student in Haiti. Working with Respond has allowed me to give back to my community in a unique way and work during my rigorous medical training… By supporting Respond, you are directly supporting people such as myself still living in Haiti all the while helping the Haitian community at an international level.”
- Dahlia, Haitian Creole interpreter
“Receiving payment for doing something I love is great, especially in a country where it is very hard to get a decent/respectable job... Respond has given me a great opportunity to get my life back on track after voluntarily deporting myself due to not having papers. Once I started getting paid for my labor, I was given another chance to survive in a country where finding work is almost insurmountable.”
- Haitian Creole Translator based in Haiti
“Being an immigrant, and having moved to the States in my forties, I had to work harder to achieve some type of stability… It gives me a feeling of satisfaction to be able to help people in need and I feel grateful for my fellow Haitian people to have access to an organization like this.”
- Haitian Creole translator
“I rely on getting paid work from Respond to help sustain myself and my son and continue helping my community.”
- Haitian Creole translator
SYSTEMS CHANGE
Respond’s Haitian Kreyol team has been central to raising the alarm about the CBP One mobile application, now required to schedule an asylum hearing at the U.S.-Mexico border, which is riddled with errors and virtually unintelligible in Haitian Kreyol.
Our Haitian translators and interpreters have also worked to systematically increase language access for Haitian migrants in the United States and raise awareness about the underlying context for political crisis in Haiti.
Marking first time a U.S. federal court is streamed in Haitian Kreyol, Respond Crisis Translation’s Nadege Chérubin live-interpreted the hearing Al Otro Lado v. Mayorkas, a case that challenges the government's policy of turning back asylum-seekers at the border.
"One of the systemic injustices that impede the realization of human rights for Haitians, especially ones from or working with marginalized communities, is linguistic exclusion. Respond has been an extraordinary partner for us in bringing those communities and their perspectives into conversations and spaces that impact policies affecting their lives. Respond's dedication and generosity in uplifting Haitian voices speaking their native tongue are solidarity in its most meaningful form."
— Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti (IJDH)
We’ve translated key policy work addressing the needs of undocumented and mixed status families; guides for detainees without access to language and legal support; California state policy documents that impact Haitian migrants; an amicus brief for the Global Strategic Litigation Council for Refugee Rights requesting an IACHR Advisory Opinion on climate change and migration in the Caribbean; a Request for Precautionary Measures to the IACHR on behalf of people held in pretrial detention at the National Penitentiary in Haiti who are at risk of cholera; and, for Brown University's John Carter Brown Library, an engaging discussion between scholars and New York Times journalists on the independence debt Haiti was forced to pay France.
The Haitian Kreyol Team also proofread and translated sections of a resource by the NYU Global Justice Clinic called Mining Free Haiti (English) or Ayiti Kanpe Min (Kreyòl). This investigation explores the history of metal mining in Haiti; human rights, environmental, and health dimensions of mining; and current grassroots resistance to mining.
Our superhero simultaneous interpreters provided interpretation for many important events. These have included the Haitian Studies Association's keynote lecture,Dr. Leslie Alexander, on "The Cradle of Hope: How Haitian Independence Inspired the Birth of Black Internationalism in the United States"; avirtual panel on the grassroots canal mobilization on the Haiti-Dominican border; events for a Gonave Haiti Partners to support structuring a mobile clinic in La Gonave and hopefully in other areas of the country; and anothervirtual panel on the Kenyan intervention in Haiti. We also provided simultaneous interpreting for the Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti on topics such as rule of law in Haiti, women's rights, and foreign intervention.