Family reunited after a decade – now a Trump clampdown could tear them apart

November 25, 2025

The Trump administration's decision to end Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for 350,000 Haitians in February 2023 threatens to separate families like Marven's, who was adopted from Haiti after the 2010 earthquake. His biological mother Guerline and sister Rochelle came to the US legally three years ago under TPS and have built lives working in Florida, but now face deportation despite gang violence in Haiti displacing a tenth of the population. While the Department of Homeland Security claims Haiti's environmental situation has improved enough for safe return, the US government simultaneously advises American citizens against traveling there due to kidnapping, crime, and civil unrest.

Who is affected

Guerline and Rochelle (Haitian mother and daughter living in Florida under TPS)
Marven (16-year-old adopted son/brother)
Stacey Nageli Angulo (Marven's adoptive mother)
Monique (Haitian woman in Miami whose husband and children have legal status)
Approximately 350,000 Haitians in the US under TPS
Over one million people from 20 countries holding TPS in the US
People from six countries (Afghanistan, Cameroon, Honduras, Nepal, Nicaragua, and Venezuela) whose TPS has already ended
Haitian population displaced by gang violence (one-tenth of Haiti's population according to the UN)

What action is being taken

Guerline works in a hotel
Rochelle works at a supermarket and a nursery
Monique works as a bus driver
The US Department of Homeland Security is ending TPS for Haitians
Multiple legal challenges are being filed, including one that has delayed the end of TPS for Haitians
Rochelle receives videos from friends and relatives in Haiti showing ongoing violence

Why it matters

This policy affects hundreds of thousands of people who have built lives legally in the US over more than a decade, many of whom face life-threatening danger if returned to Haiti. The decision separates families where some members have legal status while others face deportation, creating impossible situations like Monique's where she would be deported while her husband and children remain. The contradiction between declaring Haiti safe enough for deportations while simultaneously warning US citizens against traveling there due to kidnapping, crime, and terrorism highlights inconsistencies in policy rationale. The issue has even fractured support among Trump's voter base, with some Republicans like Stacey opposing the human cost of enforcement.

What's next

The US administration says those whose TPS ends can leave voluntarily or pursue other immigration options, though lawyers indicate few will qualify to stay and many will go underground.

Read full article from source: BBC