AUGUST 21, 2026
Contact: media@haitianbridge.org,  Paige Censale, pcensale@haitianbridge.org

SAN DIEGO, CA — Haitian Bridge Alliance (HBA) condemns the deportation of more than 160 Haitian nationals to Haiti this week, marking the first large-scale deportation flight following the termination of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for more than 350k Haitians in the United States 

The deportees arrived in Cap-Haïtien rather than Port-au-Prince  because violence has made Haiti’s capital effectively inaccessible. The United Nations reports that nearly 1.5 million Haitians are internally displaced, while 6.4 million people—more than half the country’s population—are expected to require humanitarian assistance in 2026. The security situation continues to deteriorate. Between March and July alone, the United Nations documented at least 613 people killed, 375 injured, and more than 18,000 displaced in violence  concentrated in Cité Soleil and the Plaine du Cul-de-Sac. Furthermore, we urge the Haitian government to immediately review its contract with Erik Prince and Vectus Global and pursue all available legal remedies to hold the company criminally and financially accountable for the unlawful killings of thousands innocent  Haitian civilians carried out in connection with its operations in Haiti. No private contractor should operate above the law or be shielded from accountability when Haitian lives are lost. 

Against this backdrop, HBA warns that returning people to Haiti without adequate safeguards, resources, housing, security, and access to essential services as hospitals and other sustainable infrastructure places lives at serious risk. More than 110,000 Haitian nationals had already been forcibly returned to Haiti since January 2026, according to the United Nations. 

“This is not simply a question of immigration enforcement. We are talking about human beings being sent into a country where more than a million people have already been driven from their homes and where there is security and  humanitarian crises,” said Guerline Jozef, Executive Director of Haitian Bridge Alliance. “The United States cannot claim that Haiti is safe while simultaneously acknowledging the extraordinary security risks that prevent even commercial flights from operating in Port-au-Prince and telling the whole world to not travel there. We are calling for a moratorium on deportations to Haiti. These deportations are unconscionable and will contribute to the continued destabilization of Haiti”.

HBA urges the U.S. Senate to immediately extend TPS for a minimum of three years by passing S. 4814 , until we are able to pass comprehensive immigration reform to permanently protect all TPS and DACA recipients across this nation.

ABOUT HAITIAN BRIDGE ALLIANCE

Haitian Bridge Alliance (HBA), also known as “The Bridge”, is a grassroots community organization that advocates for fair and humane immigration policies, foreign policy, and provides migrants and immigrants with humanitarian, legal, and social services, with a particular focus on Black migrants, the Haitian community, women and girls, LGBTQIA+ individuals, and survivors of torture and other human rights abuses. HBA also seeks to elevate the issues unique to Black migrants and builds solidarity and collective movement toward policy change. Anpil men chay pa lou (“Many hands make the load light”). Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook: @haitianbridge