Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced on Friday that the agency is terminating temporary protected status for more than 520,000 Haitians who fled their country due to political instability and widespread gang violence.

The special designation for Haiti expires on Aug. 3, and its termination will take effect on Sept. 2. After reviewing the island nation’s conditions, Noem determined that Haiti is safe enough for its citizens to return.

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“This decision restores integrity in our immigration system and ensures that Temporary Protective Status is actually temporary,” a DHS spokesperson said in a statement.

“The environmental situation in Haiti has improved enough that it is safe for Haitian citizens to return home,” DHS said. “We encourage these individuals to take advantage of the Department’s resources in returning to Haiti, which can be arranged through the CBP Home app. Haitian nationals may pursue lawful status through other immigration benefit requests, if eligible.”

DHS did not elaborate on how Noem and other agencies concluded that Haiti is now deemed safe. The State Department currently advises Americans not to travel to Haiti “due to kidnapping, crime, civil unrest, and limited health care.”

Haitian nationals received temporary protected status under a Biden-era humanitarian parole program that allowed over half a million immigrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela to enter the United States. The program granted CHNV beneficiaries deportation protections and work permits, which will soon be terminated.

Before leaving office, former President Joe Biden extended the designation for Haiti to February 2026. Noem revoked Biden’s decision and bumped up the end date to Aug. 3. DHS had to make a decision on the designation within 60 days.

The Supreme Court recently ruled that the Trump administration has the authority to temporarily pause the CHNV parole program as the case went through the appeals process. The government then sent termination notices to the more than 500,000 immigrants under the program.

Noem is encouraging affected Haitians to either obtain legal status or use Customs and Border Protection’s CBP Home app to report their departure from the U.S.

The app was previously known as the CBP One app, which the Biden administration used to let immigrants schedule appointments at the southern border for their asylum processing. DHS decommissioned and subsequently revamped the app after President Donald Trump took office.

Haiti underwent severe turmoil after the assassination of former President Jovenel Moise in 2021. His death led to a power vacuum, with armed gangs expanding their territory in the capital of Port-au-Prince and the country’s central regions in recent years.

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The gang violence caused displacement among more than a million Haitians, some of whom have been displaced several times.

Haiti’s multifaceted crisis is also driven by a collapsing healthcare system, poor living conditions, and a lack of food security.