First ICE Deportation Flight to Haiti Since TPS Termination Lands in Cap-Haïtien

An ICE charter aircraft carrying 161 Haitian nationals departed Alexandria, Louisiana and landed in Cap-Haïtien, Haiti's second-largest city, shortly before noon on Thursday, August 20, 2026 — the first deportation flight to Haiti since the Trump administration terminated Temporary Protected Status last month for more than 300,000 Haitians in the U.S., and the eighth deportation flight to Haiti in 2026 overall. The flight landed in Cap-Haïtien rather than the capital Port-au-Prince because the U.S. government maintains a ban on commercial flights to Port-au-Prince through early September 2026 over ongoing gang violence. Haiti's National Office of Migration said the group included people placed in removal proceedings after entering illegally, deportees who had completed criminal sentences, and individuals born outside Haiti — including in Chile and the Dominican Republic — but sent there because a parent was Haitian. Returnees received roughly $76.40 from the Haitian government, short of the $250 fare to reach Port-au-Prince. U.S. officials said flights will increase to twice weekly, returning about 250 Haitians per week. U.N. spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said the U.N. team in Haiti is 'stretched' but doing what it can to support the government's reintegration effort.