On April 2, 2025, President Donald Trump announced a broad package of import duties — which he dubbed “Liberation Day.”
In a White House ceremony, Trump signed Executive Order 14257, “Regulating Imports With a Reciprocal Tariff to Rectify Trade Practices That Contribute to Large and Persistent Annual United States Goods Trade Deficits.” This order declared a national emergency over the United States’ trade deficit and invoked the International Emergency Economic Powers Act or IEEPA to authorize sweeping tariffs on foreign imports.
NBC News reported this week, preliminary data had indicated that the U.S. economy added 584,000 jobs last year. However, the Bureau of Labor Statistics revised that number after it received additional state data which found that the labor market had rather added 181,000 jobs in all of 2025.
The BLS reported job gains occurred in health care, social assistance — industries largely employed by Haitians — and construction, while federal government and financial activities lost jobs. As of February, federal judges have blocked the Trump administration from ending Temporary Protected Status or TPS for about 350,000 Haitians, pausing efforts to deport them. While the administration targeted TPS termination, a lawsuit and a court-ordered stay have prevented deportations from proceeding.
A Bluesky post by Justin Wolfers read:
“This industry group comprises establishments primarily engaged in providing nonresidential social assistance to children and youth, the elderly, persons with disabilities, and all other individuals and families.” (The other group is the rest of us.)”
If Trump succeeds in deporting Haitians under TPS, most of the jobs gained in 2025 would disappear.