More Than 100 Deported to Haiti on Thursday as U.S. Moves From Monthly to Weekly Flights

The United States deported 101 people to Haiti on Thursday, marking the third consecutive weekly removal flight to the country as the Trump administration increases deportations there.

The flight left Louisiana and landed in Cap-Haïtien, according to NBC News. Human Rights First’s ICE Flight Monitor said the schedule represents “a shift from monthly to weekly flights.” More than 200 people were deported to Haiti on two flights in late August.

Nicolas Mardochée, a coordinator with Haiti’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told The Associated Press that Thursday’s group included Renan Hédouville, a former head of Haiti’s Office of Citizen Protection who is accused of corruption.

The accelerated flights come after Temporary Protected Status for Haiti formally ended in July, affecting roughly 350,000 Haitians who had been shielded from deportation. Some deportees in recent weeks had held TPS and had been legally living and working in the United States.

An August 20 flight carried 161 people, including some who were born outside Haiti but were deported there because of Haitian parentage. A second flight a week later included families and children, among them a 1-year-old U.S. citizen.

The removals are taking place as security conditions in Haiti remain severe. Gangs control an estimated 70% of Port-au-Prince and have expanded into other parts of the country. Nearly 1.5 million people have been displaced, while more than 3,050 people were reported killed between January and June, according to the United Nations.

The State Department continues to designate Haiti a Level 4 “Do Not Travel” destination because of crime, kidnapping, unrest and limited health care.

Thursday’s flight also reflects a broader shift in U.S. policy. Internal government records reviewed by The New York Times indicated that officials planned to increase Haiti-bound deportation flights from roughly once a month to as often as once a week. Haitian officials have separately said they were told to prepare for as many as two flights a week.

Flights have been routed to Cap-Haïtien because the main international airport in Port-au-Prince is considered too dangerous.