PROVIDENCIALES, Turks and Caicos Islands (AP) — The government of the Turks and Caicos Islands is resume deportations of Haitians who were in the British Caribbean territory illegally before their country's devastating earthquake.

A statement issued by the government says the territory is lifting a temporary ban on deportations that had been in place since shortly after the January 2010 Haiti earthquake. The announcement was made Thursday.

The territory was one of several jurisdictions in the region that halted deportations of people who came pre-quake on humanitarian grounds. The US has extended what's known as temporary protected status for Haitians until January 22, 2013.

Turks and Caicos is an island chain just north of Haiti that is home to about 32,000 people. The government deported 938 Haitians in 2010.

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