Evaluating Temporary Protected Status for Long-Term Crises

On August 20, the United States deported more than 160 individuals to Haiti on the first removal flight after ending temporary protected status (TPS) for approximately 350,000 Haitians. The flight landed in Cap-Haïtien, not the capital Port-au-Prince, due to ongoing security concerns that make the capital’s airport unsafe for U.S. commercial flights.

TPS allows eligible foreign nationals in the U.S. to stay and work legally when conditions in their home country prevent safe return. The 2010 earthquake in Haiti, which claimed over 220,000 lives and displaced 1.5 million people, appeared to warrant this protection. For 15 years, successive U.S. administrations renewed or redesigned TPS for Haiti. However, this June, following a prolonged legal battle culminating in a Supreme Court decision, Haitians lost their protection. Advocates and critics of TPS both cite the 15-year duration as evidence for their views. However, they often overlook a fundamental question: how should we respond when a disaster becomes chronic?

My parents, who immigrated from Haiti to the U.S. in the 1980s, showed me that migration often begins long before disasters occur. My work involves developing networks that connect people and economies. I focus on resilience and a system’s ability to absorb failures. A good network can withstand a lost link and reroute traffic. But when recovery is incomplete, the system weakens and may never fully recover without significant investment.

Between 2008 and 2023, 44 natural disasters caused approximately 2.9 million internal displacements in Haiti, a country with around 10 million people. Haiti seldom recovers before the next disaster strikes. Successive Haitian governments have struggled with political instability, elite control, and chronic underinvestment, especially in rural infrastructure where fewer than one in ten have electricity.

By the mid-2010s, 80 percent of urban households depended primarily on charcoal, increasing wood demand and prompting migration to cities that lacked the necessary resources to accommodate it. This trend is worldwide, as climate and natural disasters strain already vulnerable systems.

Rather than continuing temporary renewals or terminations based on the latest assessments, Congress should establish a formal process for addressing prolonged national crises. I suggest a two-step national stability review, carried out by the Departments of Homeland Security and State, triggered when a country has had TPS for ten years.

This country-level review would assess whether conditions have become chronic rather than if they persist. It would evaluate the severity and durability of conditions, the impact of environmental shocks, the feasibility of safe return, and institutional capacity for resettlement. A chronic situation might not always result in a new designation, but if determined, a second stage would assess individuals holding TPS for ten years, considering their ties to the U.S. for eligibility for permanent residence.

This process intentionally restricts eligibility to those with a substantial history of temporary protection, matching relief measures to the root of the problem while ensuring selectivity. Congress has offered permanent relief for specific populations and introduced broader legislation like the American Dream and Promise Act, yet usually limited to certain nationalities and amnesty dates.

A national stability review would question whether TPS remains appropriate, given the nature and persistence of a crisis. The U.S. cannot offer permanent residency to the billions experiencing environmental and governance challenges. A review would not admit new migrants nor automatically alter anyone’s status but would prevent endless TPS renewals without addressing sustained crises. A 15-year duration of temporary protection highlights not only political paralysis but also the unsustainability of calling some crises temporary when they clearly are not.

An end to an acute disaster does not mean the cessation of systemic issues. Congress must distinguish between acute emergencies and ongoing structural vulnerabilities, creating a comprehensive humanitarian pathway for long-lasting conditions.

Alex-Handrah Aimé is vice president of Network Investments at Meta, focusing on infrastructure connecting data centers worldwide. Born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, she is a PD Soros Fellow and 2026 Public Voices Fellow with the OpEd Project.

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