Know Your Rights: Temporary Protected Status

TPS protects citizens of listed countries from deportation and allows them to work legally in the U.S. while the program is in effect.

Country TPS: Haiti

Valid Through (Current Designation End Date): Feb. 3, 2026

Outcome: Termination currently blocked by federal court litigation

Yes. A federal court has paused the planned termination of Haiti TPS, so protections remain in place for now. This is subject to appeal and circumstances can change at any time.

Yes. TPS is temporary. Future court rulings or government action could affect the program. Recent Court decisions allowed TPS for Venezuela to end.

No. TPS is temporary protection. Some people with TPS may qualify for other forms of immigration relief. If you have United States citizen children, spouse or parents it is very important to review your options.

If you have TPS, your Employment Authorization Document (EAD) remains valid while TPS for your country is in effect. Keep copies of all approval notices and renew your EAD when eligible.

If TPS ends, your work authorization also ends, even if your work authorization card has a different date than the TPS end date. You should not continue to work without valid work authorization.

Employers are responsible to verify the eligibility for employment of their employees. If you are aware that an employee's work authorization has terminated due to the termination of their TPS status, that employee is no longer authorized to work.

TPS protects against removal only while the program is valid. It does not always protect against deportation for criminal issues or other legal violations. If TPS ends for your country, any protection against deportation also ends.

• Ask to speak with an attorney, or accredited immigration representative immediately.
• Do not sign anything without having the document provided to you in the language you speak and understand the best.
• Ask to review any documents with your immigration representative or attorney.
• Ask to call a family member of friend so you can alert them to your location and custody.
• Document dates, locations, and officer names if possible

Certain categories of individuals are not eligible for bond. Anyone with an aggravated felony conviction, or a criminal conviction of anything defined as a particularly serious crime or two or more crimes of moral turpitude is not eligible for bond. Even minor offenses such as driving without a license or marijuana possession can have a significant negative impact on a bond decision. Anyone with a prior removal order, no matter how long ago, is generally not eligible for bond. There is also current and ongoing litigation regarding whether people who entered the United States without a visa or parole are eligible for bond. Individuals in these categories may be forced to seek release through a writ of habeas corpus in federal court.

It is best to be prepared for a potential bond hearing prior to being detained. That means having someone you trust have copies of important paperwork necessary for an immigration bond application. At a minimum, that paperwork should include:

• A letter from a United States citizen or permanent resident sponsor agreeing to be responsible for you. That letter should include copies of their identification and least three years' worth of tax returns or tax transcripts.
• Copies of your passport or identification documents.
• Copies of all family birth certificates, marriage and divorce certificates.
• Proof of your residences for the last 5 years.
• Proof of your employment for the last five years.
• Any other documents, such as awards, education, certificates that show your ties to the community.
• Letters from friends and family members that explain why you should be released on bond. Each letter should contain the person's name, address and a copy of their identification. Each letter should state how long the person has known you and how they know you.

Recent news reports have raised concerns about warrantless home entries or arrests. ICE generally cannot enter your home without a court-issued, judge-signed warrant. Administrative ICE warrants (Form I-200/I-205) do not give officers automatic authority to enter your home.

Know Your Rights at Home:

• You can remain silent
• You can refuse entry if officers do not have a judge-signed warrant
• You can ask officers to slide any warrant under the door or hold it to a window
• You can speak to a lawyer before answering questions or signing documents
• If ICE enters your home or arrests you even without a warrant, do not resist, clearly state that you do not consent to entry, and ask for an attorney immediately. Document everything afterward.

There are many options available for individuals with TPS. Each person's situation is different. Depending on your circumstances, you may qualify for:

• Asylum, withholding of removal, or protection under Convention Against Torture (CAT) may be available to individuals that were previously harmed or persecuted on account of a protected ground in their country of birth, or fear that upon return to that country, they will be harmed or persecuted. If you are detained, it will be your obligation to tell DHS if you have been harmed in the past, or fear harm in the future. You must claim the right to seek asylum, withholding or CAT protection, DHS will not offer it to you.
• If you have a felony conviction, or prior deportation order, you may still qualify for withholding of removal or CAT protection. It is your obligation to inform DHS that you have suffered harm or persecution in the past, or fear harm or persecution in the future on account of a protected ground. DHS will only provide a Reasonable Fear interview for this relief, if you request it.
• If you have United States citizen or permanent resident, parents, spouse, children or step-children, you may be able apply for permanent residence based on those relationships. If your child or spouse is in the U.S. Military, there are additional options.
• If you have been the victim of; a violent crime, domestic violence by a parent, child or spouse, been subjected human trafficking, forced labor, debt bondage due to money owed to someone, you may be eligible for a T, U, S or VAWA visas.
• If you are under the age of 21, and have been abandoned, abused or neglected by one or both parents, you may qualify for Special Immigrant Juvenile Status.
• If you entered the United States with a Visa or under Parole, you may be eligible to seek an employment based visa. This will require your employer to file for a visa application for you.
• If you entered the United States with a visa, and anyone applied for a family or employment-based visa for you before April 1, 1997, you may be eligible for certain forms of adjustment of status based on your United States Citizen or permanent resident spouse, parent or child.
• If you have been in the United States for more than ten years and have United States citizen or permanent resident parents, children or step-children under 21, or spouse, you may qualify for cancelation of removal, if your deportation would result in "exceptional and extremely unusual hardship" to that relative.
• Humanitarian relief from removal or deferred action may be available in special limited circumstances due to age, infirmity, or other conditions.

TPS does not erase old orders of removal. There have been many changes in immigration law and policies over the years. Each case is different. Sometimes, there does exist reasons that justify seeking to reopen a prior removal order. A successful motion to reopen can you offer you a new chance to present your case, including any new or changed circumstances, to the Immigration Court. Even prior criminal convictions that form the basis of a removal order are subject to review if there has been new evidence, or changes in the law that impact the validity of the conviction, or if there were constitutional violations in your case such as a failure of the Court to advice you of the immigration consequences of a guilty plea.