By Daphne Psaledakis and Ted Hesson
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Monday paved the way for the United States to deport certain lawful permanent residents, saying Washington determined some had supported Haitian gang leaders connected to a U.S.-designated terrorist organization.
Rubio in a statement said certain U.S. lawful permanent residents had supported and collaborated with gang leaders tied to Viv Ansanm, the armed alliance that controls most of Haiti's capital Port-au-Prince,
which President Donald Trump's administration labeled a Foreign Terrorist Organization in May.
Following the determination, the Department of Homeland Security can pursue the deportation of the lawful permanent residents, Rubio added. It was unclear how many people could be targeted for deportation and no individuals were named in the statement.
The move comes as the Trump administration has sought to ramp up deportations as part of its wide-ranging efforts to fulfill the president's hardline immigration agenda, with Rubio making unprecedented use of his power to try to revoke the visas and green cards of pro-Palestinian protesters.
"The United States will not allow individuals to enjoy the benefits of legal status in our country while they are facilitating the actions of violent organizations or supporting criminal terrorist organizations," Rubio said on Monday.
Haiti's transitional government did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Almost 5,000 people have been killed in Haiti between October 2024 and June 2025 amid worsening gang violence nationwide, according to a U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights report.
IMMIGRATION CRACKDOWN
The surge in violence is deepening Haiti's humanitarian crisis, destabilizing the country and raising concerns of spillover effects in the region.
The gang conflict in Haiti has been met with little international response, while neighboring countries, including the U.S., have continued to deport migrants back to the Caribbean nation despite pleas by the United Nations to stop the practice, citing humanitarian concerns.
As part of Trump's crackdown, he has taken steps to end protections that have allowed hundreds of thousands of people to live and work in the U.S. legally.
The administration moved to end Temporary Protected Status that granted deportation relief and work permits to more than half a million Haitians already in the U.S. but was blocked by a federal judge earlier this month.
Separately, the administration revoked deportation protections for hundreds of thousands of Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans enrolled in a parole program launched by former President Joe Biden.
During his 2024 presidential campaign, Trump falsely said during a debate that Haitians in Springfield, Ohio, were eating people's pets.
Washington's designation of Viv Ansanm and Gran Grif as terrorist groups followed similar measures made recently for Latin American drug cartels and was intended to isolate the groups, denying them access to financing from U.S. people or companies.
"The Department of State has determined that certain individuals with U.S. lawful permanent resident status have supported and collaborated with Haitian gang leaders connected to Viv Ansanm, a Haitian Foreign Terrorist Organization," Rubio said on Monday.
"With this determination, the Department of Homeland Security can pursue the removal of these individuals under ... the Immigration and Nationality Act."
(Reporting by Daphne Psaledakis, Ted Hesson and Jasper Ward in Washington and Ismail Shakil in Ottawa; Additional reporting by Kylie Madry in Mexico City and Harold Isaac in Port-au-Prince; Editing by Leslie Adler and Matthew Lewis)
