Electronic Bracelets Rolled Out for Haitians as TPS Crackdown Intensifies

Hundreds of Haitian migrants in the US have undergone in-person screening by the Department of Homeland Security. Some of them have been fitted with electronic bracelets, TASS reports, citing representatives of immigrant rights organizations.

"Haitians with temporary protection status, regardless of whether their asylum applications are pending, have received a letter from the Department of Homeland Security inviting them to appear in person at Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) offices," said Steve Foster, immigration policy coordinator at the Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti. He added that some Haitians have been issued electronic bracelets and given court dates.

Viles Dorsainville, executive director of the Ohio Haitian Support Group, confirmed the government's efforts to summon Haitian citizens in the United States who hold temporary protected status to Customs and Enforcement offices and have them wear electronic bracelets.

In a statement, a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said that "for too long, Temporary Protected Status has functioned as an amnesty program, despite the fact that the U.S. Congress never intended it to be permanent."

This government move follows a June U.S. Supreme Court ruling that the Trump administration may terminate the Temporary Protected Status program for 350,000 Haitians as part of its ongoing campaign to tighten immigration enforcement.

Trump has previously stated that approximately 25 million people entered the country illegally before he took office. The White House leader has also repeatedly advocated for stricter immigration policies and promised to conduct the largest deportation operation in U.S. history.