Why Haitians are leaving the US
Many Haitians have headed to Canada over concerns that they'll lose their temporary protected status or TPS, in the US.
Shortly after the devastating 2010 earthquake in Haiti, the Obama administration granted Haitian immigrants -- who had already been living in the US -- with temporary protected status.
The program allowed them to work and shielded them from deportation. It also provided them temporary refuge considering that Haiti had suffered one of the deadliest earthquakes in history, and the country was seen as too unstable for people to return.
The program had since been repeatedly renewed. But earlier this year, Department of Homeland Security officials said conditions in Haiti were improving since the earthquake -- and that the program could be terminated next year.
DHS officials urged Haitian recipients to prepare for the program's potential expiration in January 2018.
This has sent a wave of Haitians across the northern border. Many of them have expressed concerns they'll be deported if they stay in the US.
But Canada ended its version of a program that was similar to the TPS for Haitians last year, the CBC reported. This means Haitians without status can be deported from Canada.
Many asylum seekers have headed for Quebec where Montreal has a large Haitian community.
Amid the influx, asylum seekers are being sheltered at Olympic Stadium, where Montreal had hosted the summer games in 1976.
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