Insights from Bush Institute immigration expert Laura Collins
Haitian immigrants are in the news again as the Trump Administration continues to try to revoke Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for 330,000 Haitians whose home country has been in chaos since the 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse. A federal court has so far stayed the revocation, and Haitians on TPS remain able to live and work in the United States while litigation proceeds.
Haiti is a great example of how immigration is both a foreign policy and a domestic policy issue. Violence and instability forcibly displaced hundreds of thousands of Haitians across the Western Hemisphere for decades. Haitians who remain behind rely on their family members who work abroad for economic support. What little remains of the Haitian government could not possibly reintegrate Haitians who might be forced to return.
Stable democracies must work together to ensure those who flee can find refuge, freedom, and opportunity until they are able to return home.
Americans cannot remedy Haiti’s problems simply by being welcoming to Haitians, though. As my colleague Elizabeth Kennedy Trudeau and I wrote, the United States and our allies in the Western Hemisphere must have a cohesive, long-term strategy to bring security and stability to Haiti.
In the meantime, allowing Haitians already living and working in the United States to continue to contribute (FWD.us estimates Haitians on TPS are a $5.9 billion boost to the U.S. economy) is a small but smart way Americans can benefit while helping our fellow humans.
Figure of the Month
1 out of 10
A KFF census analysis found that nearly 10% of health care workers in the United States come from one of the 75 countries that were impacted by a federal pause on immigrant visas. About a third of them come from Haiti, Jamaica, and Nigeria.
Data Dive
- The Cato Institute looked at the fiscal effects of immigrants on government budgets over the past 30 years and found that they were net positive by the most conservative estimates. From 1994 to 2023, immigrants generated a surplus of $14.5 trillion, including saving $3.9 trillion in interest payments on the U.S. debt. The authors concluded that immigrants paid more taxes than they received in government benefits and that, without their contribution, the public debt would have been nearly twice as high in 2023.
- The Wall Street Journal breaks down the $35 billion spent by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) since President Donald Trump took office in 2025. “Looking at the contracts by subagency shows that spending by Customs and Border Protection nearly tripled in 2025 from a year earlier, reaching $15 billion. Immigration and Customs Enforcement contracts awarded since Jan. 20, 2025, totaled $5.1 billion, a 63% increase.”
What I’m Reading
- The Marshall Project analyzed Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention data, finding over 1,300 children were held in immigration detention for longer than the 20-day limit prescribed by the Flores settlement, which established national standards for the detention of immigrant minors. Some children were held with their families at the Dilley Immigration Processing Center in Texas for more than five months.
- On Substack, Andrea R. Flores, Claire Trickler-McNulty, and Deborah Fleischaker provide an overview of past attempts to manage immigrant families in detention or alternatives to detention. The former Biden and Department of Homeland Security officials also offer legislative policy solutions to help avoid long-term family confinement while immigration cases proceed.
- A new DHS memo outlines plans to detain lawfully admitted refugees if they have not obtained a green card within a year of their admission to the United States. DHS says the policy is needed to combat immigration fraud. Refugees are subject to a multistep vetting process that often takes years before they are admitted to the United States.
- NBC News has a report on increased efforts to denaturalize foreign-born American citizens. Typically rare, the Trump Administration would like to increase the frequency with which it brings cases. The first Trump Administration won 86 denaturalization cases. The Biden Administration won 54 cases.
- It’s not just immigrants who are impacted during recent immigration enforcement operations. AP News reports that Native Americans are experiencing increased fear and harassment amid the immigration crackdowns, as federal agents mistake them for Latinos. Many Native Americans are now carrying tribal identification to prove their U.S. citizenship, while tribal nations are expediting and expanding access to these documents.
Bush Institute Insights
- My colleague Natalie Gonnella-Platts and I submitted a statement for the record to the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Europe. Our statement emphasized the policy solutions the United States can use to combat authoritarian governments and malign non-state actors who weaponize migration.
- On Saturday, I moderated a panel discussion at the National Governors Association Winter Meeting featuring Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt, Maryland Governor Wes Moore, and Tim Shriver, the founder of the Dignity Index. The conversation focused on civility, disagreement, and working together across the aisle.
- My colleagues Chris Walsh, Director, Freedom and Democracy and Bill McKenzie, Senior Editorial Advisor, published We the People: Pluralism in Real Life. We define pluralism as the commitment of people – of varying beliefs and backgrounds – to respect each other as equal citizens in a democracy. This guide is designed to help American leaders appreciate that meaning and implement it.
