![\"Haiti](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/IMG_2938.jpeg\" "\\"Haiti")
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Haiti has been under a State Department Level 4: Do Not Travel warning since 2020. But for the first time the agency has added a new grim recommendation for U.S. citizens considering travel to the Caribbean country.<\/p>\n
Jacqueline Charles<\/p>\n
jcharles@miamiherald.com<\/p>\n
If you\u2019re a U.S. citizen and thinking about traveling to Haiti, the Trump administration would rather you not go. But should you decide to make the trip anyway, it has a new and unusually grim request:<\/p>\n
\u201cLeave DNA samples with your medical provider and dental records with your family in case it is necessary for your family to access them to identify your remains,\u201d the State Department is recommending.<\/a><\/p>\n The advisory comes as Haiti remains on the State Department\u2019s highest-level \u201cDo Not Trust\u201d travel advisory, and as the administration moves to end immigration protections for more than 300,000 Haitians<\/a> and begin returning them to the Caribbean country.<\/p>\n The recommendation to leave DNA samples and dental records behind before traveling has been added alongside longstanding warnings for U.S. citizens to be wary of kidnappings, violent crime, terrorist activity, civil unrest and limited health care. In addition to Haiti, it also applies to other high-risk areas, per the State Department\u2019s website<\/a> outlining recommendations on local laws and U.S. assistance in high-risk countries.<\/p>\n Other recommendations for travelers include drafting a will and naming \u201cappropriate insurance beneficiaries and power of attorney\u201d and sharing important documents, logins and contacts with loved ones before traveling. \u201cThey will need them if you cannot return to the United States as planned,\u201d the State Department said.<\/p>\n And in case a U.S. citizen is taken hostage, the State Department said the traveler should appoint one family member to serve as the point of contact and also set up a proof-of-life protocol. \u201cIf you become a hostage, that person will know what questions to ask and answers to expect. This will help them be sure that you are alive. \u201c<\/p>\n The stark language on the DNA sample and dental records was first highlighted in March in U.S. Supreme Court filings by lawyers challenging the Trump administration\u2019s efforts to end TPS for Haitians.<\/p>\n In addition to telling justices that ending the deportation protections \u201cwould place TPS holders in mortal danger,\u201d plaintiffs\u2019 lawyers pointed to the travel advisory on DNA samples and dental records as evidence of how even the administration views Haiti as being unsafe.<\/p>\n \u201cThe idea of leaving DNA samples and dental records demonstrates how outrageous it is that\u201d top Trump adviser Stephen Miller, President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio \u201cwould consider sending people back to Haiti,\u201d said Miami-immigration attorney Ira Kurzban, whose firm is part of the team that challenged the Department of Homeland\u2019s termination of Haiti\u2019s TPS designation.<\/p>\n READ MORE: As deportation flight lands in Haiti, U.S. says two planeloads a week will start soon<\/a><\/p>\n Lawyers for the plaintiffs, who eventually lost their challenge when the Supreme Court ruled in favor of allowing the Department of Homeland Security to end the protections, had argued that Haiti\u2019s TPS termination, like that of another dozen nonwhite majority countries, was motivated by racial and national-origin bias. It also violated the Administrative Procedure Act, they said, because Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem had failed to consult with the State Department before making her decision.<\/p>\n \u201cIf Haiti is that dangerous why are we sending people back to Haiti unless it is the continuation of Trump and DHS\u2019 racist policy as directed by Miller and as detailed in the district court opinion?\u201d Kurzban said.<\/p>\n Former State Department officials said they had never seen such language in the department\u2019s travel advisory. Several reacted to the recommendation with adjectives like \u201ccrazy\u201d and \u201cwild.\u201d One former official noted that the request is more commonly associated with U.S. troops deploying to combat zones.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have just a disjointed policy,\u201d Keith Mines, a former diplomat who served in Haiti and as vice president at the U.S. Institute of Peace., said about U.S. policy toward Haiti, which loses its TPS designation on July 24. \u201cOn the one hand, we\u2019re trying to help; on the other, undercutting our own efforts at every opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n This story was originally published July 17, 2026 at 5:30 AM.<\/p>\n