Haitian Deportations Continue in Key West After TPS Ended
- Liana Gonzalez-Blanco
- Jan 28
- 7 min read
Updated: 21 hours ago
By: Liana Gonzalez-Blanco
January 27, 2026
Employment Challenges in the Florida Keys
With the southern border now closed and Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haitians set to end in February, many businesses in the Florida Keys are bracing for a new wave of staffing shortages. The tourism industry relies heavily on low‑skilled labor, and employers say replacing that workforce will be difficult.
The challenge is compounded by recent federal crackdowns on labor brokers who supplied undocumented workers to local companies. Several of those operators were shut down, and their owners are now serving prison sentences for tax evasion and trafficking in illegal labor.
Adding to the pressure, the Florida Legislature is considering bills that would expand E‑Verify requirements statewide. Companies that once ignored hiring laws are finding it increasingly difficult to do so without facing penalties.
Rod Joseph, a Haitian-American candidate for U.S. Congress, said he has been working with the administration to ensure deportation efforts focus on individuals with criminal records. “If the president goes after criminals, no one is against that,” Joseph said. “But if you deport someone who doesn’t commit any crime who’s here seeking a better life, this is when we start having issues with the practice.”
Immigration Election Mandate
President Trump, who campaigned on enforcing immigration laws, is carrying out the mandate voters delivered in the 2024 election. In Florida, where sanctuary cities are prohibited by state law, undocumented immigrants are increasingly aware that deportation is likely. Some have already chosen to leave voluntarily, using federal incentives that offer cash bonuses and a pathway to apply for legal status.
The 2025–2026 federal policy for voluntary departure—often referred to as “Project Homecoming”—encourages undocumented individuals to self‑deport through the CBP Home mobile app. Participants can receive free travel, a $1,000 to $2,600 exit payment, and a waiver of civil fines for failing to depart. Since January 2025, federal officials report that 2.2 million undocumented immigrants have voluntarily returned to their home countries, with tens of thousands using the CBP Home program.
In Key West, the City Commission voted unanimously in the summer of 2025 to support 287(g) agreements with ICE, aligning the city with every county in Florida that already participates in similar partnerships. Soon after that vote, the Trump administration announced that Temporary Protected Status for Haitians would end later in the year, a deadline later extended to February 3, 2026.
As these policy debates unfolded locally, federal immigration agents continued removing individuals with criminal records from South Florida.
Dangerous Haitian Immigrant Deported from South Florida
On July 17, 2025, federal immigration agents removed a high‑profile individual from South Florida. ICE officers arrested Pierre Réginald Boulos, a prominent Haitian businessman, physician, and former presidential candidate, on charges that he supported violent gangs in Haiti that the U.S. government has designated as terrorist organizations. Boulos was taken into custody at his South Florida home by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
In a statement, ICE said Boulos “engaged in a campaign of violence and gang support that contributed to Haiti’s destabilization.” According to the agency, the U.S. Department of State determined that certain individuals with lawful permanent resident status had collaborated with Haitian gang leaders tied to Viv Ansanm, which the United States has labeled a foreign terrorist organization.
“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 abroad,” ICE said.
Boulos, who has previously denied multiple corruption allegations, is among the most prominent Haitian figures arrested under the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement efforts. Although born in the United States, he renounced his U.S. citizenship to run for president of Haiti. He later obtained lawful permanent resident status in 2024 under the Biden administration.
ICE officials said Boulos failed to disclose in his residency application his role in forming a political party and that the Haitian government had referred him for prosecution related to alleged misuse of loans. During his years in Haiti, Boulos founded several businesses and served as president of the National Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
In 2019, he launched the Third Way Movement, a political party he described as a challenge to Haiti’s “shameless elite and unscrupulous politicians.” The party called for a negotiated transition to remove then‑President Jovenel Moïse from power. That same year, Boulos traveled through Haiti’s central region to build political support, telling the newspaper Le Nouvelliste, “I am part of the system that must be destroyed. I know how to destroy it.”
Moïse served as president from 2017 until his assassination in July 2021. Dozens of suspects were arrested, including 17 former Colombian soldiers who remain under interrogation. Court documents later described a plot involving Christian Emmanuel Sanon, a pastor and doctor who sought to position himself as Haiti’s next leader. As the political vacuum deepened, gang violence escalated across the country, and Boulos eventually returned to the United States where ICE eventually found him.
Impact of Deportations on Monroe County Schools
ICE remains active in Key West, and additional deportations are expected in the coming months, particularly within the Haitian community. Local activist groups have attempted to interfere with enforcement efforts, including creating a hotline to report ICE locations so undocumented individuals could avoid contact with officers. Those efforts have not stopped ongoing operations. With Temporary Protected Status for Haitians ending in February 2026, the impact will be felt most sharply in Key West’s Haitian community, local employers, and the public school system.
For the 2025–2026 school year, Monroe County Schools report a total enrollment of 8,608 students. Of that number, 18.1% are immigrant English Language Learners (ELL), totaling 1,560 students who could be affected if they lack legal status or lose TPS protections.
According to Florida Department of Education data, Monroe County’s ELL population increased by 531 students between 2021 and 2025. During that period, the percentage of ELL students rose from 12% to 18%. As of Fall 2025, the district’s enrollment stands at 8,608 students, including 1,560 ELL students.
Schools are prohibited from asking about a student’s immigration status during registration, but they do administer language assessments to determine ELL placement. With a per‑pupil expenditure of $17,000—as reported by the Florida Department of Education—the potential financial impact is significant. If all 1,560 ELL students were to lose legal status, the district could face an estimated $26.5 million reduction in funding. Even if only half were affected, the loss would still total approximately $13 million.
A funding reduction of that scale would almost certainly require staffing cuts and other adjustments across the district.
Key West’s Foreign‑Born Population and the Potential Impact of Deportations
According to the most recent American Community Survey (ACS) 5‑year estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau, Key West has an estimated population of about 25,800 residents. The data shows that 88.4% of residents are U.S. citizens, while 11.6% are non‑citizens.
The ACS also reports that 21.6% of Key West’s population is foreign‑born, a category that includes both naturalized U.S. citizens and non‑citizens. Because Key West is a small city, the Census Bureau relies on multi‑year ACS estimates rather than single‑year counts, meaning these numbers should be understood as well‑vetted estimates rather than exact totals. Even so, they remain the most reliable snapshot of the city’s current demographic makeup.
Based on these estimates, 11.6% of the population equals approximately 2,992 foreign‑born residents in Key West. Their legal status is not known. Most are presumably naturalized U.S. citizens. If only a small percentage lack legal status, the number of residents potentially subject to deportation is well below 3,000—likely only a few hundred.
A population shift of that size is not statistically significant enough to create long‑term negative effects on Key West’s tourism workforce, school funding, or housing prices. The only impact that cannot be measured is the emotional one—felt differently across the community—shaped by both the positive and negative experiences associated with immigration.
National Immigration Data and Trends
It remains unclear exactly how deportations will affect Key West’s housing market or local businesses. Some employers may see more job openings, and some rental units may become available, depending on how many immigrants are removed from the area.
For historical context, federal deportation numbers have been high under multiple administrations. From 2009 to 2017, the Obama administration deported an estimated 5 million people, a record that led some critics to label him the “Deporter in Chief.” Before that, the Bush administration deported approximately 10 million, and the Clinton administration deported the most, with an estimated 12 million.
As shown in the chart below, Democratic presidents have historically overseen higher total deportation numbers than Republican presidents. Despite these removals, the tourism industry in the Florida Keys remained strong during all three presidencies.
DHS press releases and reports indicate that hundreds of thousands of people have been deported since President Trump took office on January 20, 2025. One DHS release on December 10, 2025 cited approximately 605,000 deportations. Even with the negative attention surrounding current enforcement efforts, President Trump has deported fewer immigrants than the previous four presidents—even when including the 2 million self‑deportations DHS estimated for 2025.
Liana Gonzalez-Blanco
Liana is a Key West native who loves writing about her island home. She taught English to students in grades 6–12 for nearly 35 years in Key West schools, sharing her love of literature and language with generations of local students. She earned a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Florida and a master’s degree in Educational Leadership from the University of Central Florida. Liana is the owner of Conch Media Group, LLC, and the creator and manager of The Key West Post. Her goal is to keep readers informed about the issues that matter most in Key West. As a lifelong local, she offers a perspective often missing from corporate media and from journalists and bloggers who are new to the island. When Liana isn't writing and managing this website, she enjoys spending time with her friends and family. On most days, you’ll find her walking, biking, or running outdoors, soaking up the natural beauty, friendly people, and diverse cultures that make Key West so special.
This website is free for everybody. However, readers can support her local independent news website by joining a pay plan here and cancel anytime without any hassles.
Readers can also join her free newsletter here.
Please follow The Key West Post on social media to get notifications when new articles are posted:
Comments