The Supreme Court recently cleared the way for the Trump administration to terminate Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for hundreds of thousands of Haitians.
And now, DHS General Counsel James Percival has a message for anyone who thinks there will be a grace period before deportations begin. A Semisonic message, as it were.
During an exchange with Fox News’ Bill Melugin, who asked about said grace period, Percival quoted the song “Closing Time.” Which you just know will infuriate bleeding hearts who undoubtedly will whine about what they perceive as a callous response.
Meh. One person's callousness is another man's humor. And this reply is comedy gold, Jerry.
"The 'T' in TPS stands for 'temporary,' yet many of these designations go back decades," he said, pointing out that those affected already had a plethora of time to address their situations.
"President Trump has been trying to end these programs since 2017. So these people have been on notice for nine years that this day is coming," he added. "So what we would say now is that it's closing time, which means you don't have to go home, but you can't stay here."
The DHS official explained that those affected are free to voluntarily self-deport via the CBP Home app: "The good news is it's not too late to get a $2,600 check and a free flight home."
“The T in TPS stands for temporary…It is closing time. You don’t have to go home but you can’t stay here. The good news is it’s not too late to get a $2,600 check and a free flight home.” @DHSGenCounselhttps://t.co/YGo3uuNvrE pic.twitter.com/JDClLseFgA
— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) June 26, 2026
READ MORE: SCOTUS Hands Trump Major Immigration Win - Says Courts Can't Second-Guess Most TPS Decisions
Well, hell. I don't recall any mention of $2,600 and a free airplane ride in that song. Just some barback telling me to hurry along and finish my whiskey or beer. That I paid for!
Feels like the Haitians got the better end of this bargain.
White House adviser Stephen Miller added to the outrage machine by suggesting that Haiti is a perfectly fine destination for Haitians.
"Does the Administration consider Haiti a safe country?" a reporter asked.
"For Haitians? Absolutely, yes," he replied, before pointing out the obvious. "Haitians live in Haiti. It's not our position that Haitians should leave Haiti. It'd be crazy for us to say that Haitians couldn't live in Haiti. It's their country."
"Does the Administration consider Haiti a safe country?"@StephenM: "For Haitians? Absolutely. Haitians live in Haiti... It'd be crazy for us to say that Haitians couldn't live in Haiti. It's their country." https://t.co/eEjl4F9ye7 pic.twitter.com/69adUrp5c6
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) June 25, 2026
Echoing Percival, Miller responded to another question, wondering if deportations were about to commence as a result of the TPS ruling.
"Of course, if you no longer have status in this country, then you're supposed to be deported," he said.
Seems like common sense, but that was a completely foreign concept to the previous administration.
My goodness, the absolute gaslighting by the media about how scary and terrible Haiti is. As if we didn't just watch them crush President Trump when he pointed out it was a "s***hole" country.
Now, sending them back is a "death sentence."
Trump famously called Haiti a "shithole country" and the left lost their damn minds insisting it was paradise on Earth. Now, the prospect of returning people to it is a "death sentence." Democrats will always use whatever lie is most useful to them at any given moment. https://t.co/uhVUPmv2sG
— Derek Hunter (@derekahunter) February 21, 2025
Try not to be so negative, libs.
Haitians, gather up your jackets, move it to the exits. Think of it as a new beginning. And as we all know, every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end.
Editor’s Note: We voted for mass deportations, not mass amnesty. Help us continue to fight back against those trying to go against the will of the American people.
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