From the dining room of a two-bedroom apartment in East Orange, Marie listens to a sermon on the radio as she waits to leave for her night shift. She reaches across the checkered tablecloth, grabs her phone, and glances at the screen. It’s 7 p.m. She places the phone back on the table and, with an awkward movement, stands up. She is about to turn 48, but she still feels like she has energy to keep working. Nonetheless, the heat and the smoke from the fryer at the fast-food restaurant where she has been working have taken their toll on her. She came to the US in 2021 and was approved for Temporary Protected Status after the program was extended in May of that year. Three years later, Marie remains determined to make the most of her health while she still has it, and for as long as she is in this country. Now, more than ever, she feels the uncertainty weighing on her. “He is not going to do it,” she says, trying to convince herself that Trump has been lying about his mass deportation plan. But deep down, she knows Trump is serious, and that terrifies her.

Mass deportations were a central promise of Trump’s 2024 election bid. He vowed to carry out the “largest deportation program” in U.S. history. Now that he’s set to occupy the White House after a landslide election victory in November, migrants are apprehensively preparing for what a Trump presidency could mean for them. Specifically, Trump has promised to end programs like humanitarian parole and Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haiti, which have allowed thousands of Haitian migrants to enter the United States legally since 2021. Haitians like Marie aren’t just waiting patiently for Trump to begin deportations; they are being proactive and carefully planning their steps between now and January, when Trump takes office. While some are considering a change of status, others are contemplating leaving the United States altogether. Where to? Canada.

In 2017, when Trump first ended Temporary Protection for Haitians, thousands of Haitians flocked to the northern border to seek asylum in Canada. In fact, asylum claims in Canada reached their highest level in decades that year. Seven years later, many suspect that history could repeat itself. Canadian officials are already preparing for an influx of Haitian migrants. But things are very different in Canada today, and perhaps 2014 is not the new 2017.