U.S. to expand Haitian eligibility for deportation relief program

FILE PHOTO: Migrants from Haiti walk near the Zaragoza-Ysleta international border bridge after being deported from the United States, in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico February 3, 2021. REUTERS/Jose Luis Gonzalez

The United States will expand Haitian eligibility for a humanitarian program that grants deportation relief and work permits to immigrants who cannot safely return to their home countries, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security told lawmakers in an email on Saturday.

A new designation of so-called Temporary Protected Status (TPS) will cover an estimated 150,000 Haitians already living in the United States, Democratic Senator Bob Menendez of New Jersey said in a written statement.

(Reporting by Ted Hesson in Washington)