REFUGEES from the poorest nation in the Americas could soon find themselves in the crosshairs of US President Donald Trump’s administration as immigration authorities publicly weigh ending temporary protections for 50000 Haitians residing in the US.

Residents of the impoverished Caribbean nation were extended temporary protected status (TPS) after the 2010 earthquake that ruined Haiti’s infrastructure and claimed nearly 200000 lives.

In a letter that circulated through the press last week, acting director of US Citizenship and Immigration Services James McCament suggested that the temporary protections be tapered off after January for a “period of orderly transition”, after which Haitian migrants in the US would lose their right to work and reside in the country.

US immigration authorities grant TPS to foreign nationals facing displacement or danger from natural disasters, epidemics or political instability if they are deported to their home countries. Haitians have repeatedly been granted the reprieve, renewed every 18 months since the 2010 earthquake.

McCament argues that conditions on the island have improved enough to end protections for Haitians.