107 Haitians Deported from the Bahamas Arrive on Flag Day — Adding to IDP and Returnee Crisis

On May 18, 2026 — Haiti's Flag Day national holiday — 107 Haitian nationals were deported from the Bahamas and arrived back in Haiti, according to HaitiLibre's daily Zapping digest. The deportation coincided with Haiti's national holiday and added to the returnee burden on a country with 1.47 million+ internally displaced persons and severely limited absorption capacity. The Bahamas has maintained an active deportation program for undocumented Haitian nationals throughout 2025–2026; these deportations occur against the backdrop of gang control of approximately 90% of Port-au-Prince, an ongoing MSF hospital closure in Cité Soleil, and the elimination of the August 30 election timetable. Returnees to Haiti face immediate security risks, as deportees typically land in Port-au-Prince — a city where gang-controlled neighborhoods account for the vast majority of urban territory. Human rights organizations including HRW and UNHCR have called for a halt to deportations to Haiti, arguing they violate the principle of non-refoulement given the active armed conflict conditions. Haiti's government has made similar requests to regional partners, though deportations have continued from the Bahamas, Dominican Republic, and the United States. The May 18 deportation flight is part of an ongoing pattern; HaitiLibre documented 72,000 persons displaced in the Nippes department in the same period, illustrating the scale of internal displacement across all regions.