A Community Leader Fights for Haitians in Ohio, While Worrying About His Own Fate

An ICE spokesperson said in a statement that TPS had been allowed to function as a de facto amnesty program and that the program was always intended to be temporary.  

“What we would say now is it’s closing time which means you don’t have to go home, but you can’t stay here,” the spokesperson said in an unsigned statement. “The good news is it’s not too late to get a $2,600 check and a free flight home.”

Scores of Haitian immigrants have also reportedly lost their jobs. Piervil said large amusement parks, hotels, and nursing homes in Orlando have begun dismissing hundreds, if not thousands, of Haitian workers since the Supreme Court ruling.

The fraught situation in the U.S. is prompting some Haitians to contemplate fleeing to a third country, despite the obstacles. Aside from the costs and a possible language barrier, many Haitian immigrants are also concerned about their own safety if they move to a third country, according to Felipe Sousa-Lazaballet, a community organizer in central Florida. That fear was heightened after reports in February that four decapitated Haitian women were found in the Dominican Republic—Haiti’s neighbor—after they had been deported from Puerto Rico. The Dominican Republic has also been deporting hundreds of thousands back to Haiti each year.