The recent travel ban announced by President Donald Trump has ignited widespread fear and outrage within New York City’s prominent Haitian community, which constitutes the largest local diaspora impacted by the directive affecting twelve nations.
Community leaders, pastors, and small business owners have expressed their concerns that the new restrictions will force many to stay out of sight to avoid any potential contact with immigration authorities, fearing arrest or deportation.
Rev. Wesley Joseph, a U.S. citizen and pastor of the Jerusalem Church of Christ in Brooklyn, emphasized the contributions of the Haitian community: “We did nothing wrong. We work for America. We help America. … You have doctors, you have lawyers. We contribute to the economy.”
Business owner Jolly Fleury of J&C Haitian Restaurant and Bakery noted a significant decline in customers since the travel ban was enacted. “Customers [are] scared. ICE hasn’t come over here yet. But some other restaurants I know, they come,” he explained, referring to Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials.
Fleury lamented, “A lot of people are worried. That’s the reason I don’t make enough money.”
Stephanie Delia, an immigration lawyer and head of the advocacy group Little Haiti BK, pointed out that the ban is adversely affecting small Haitian-owned businesses in the area, including grocery stores that sell traditional Haitian goods. “There’s a lot of fear. There’s a lot of confusion,” she stated.
President Trump announced last week that citizens from Haiti and eleven other countries would be barred from visiting the United States unless they already possess visas or permanent residency. This move has been described as a harsh blow to the Haitian community, which numbers in the hundreds of thousands in the New York metropolitan area, particularly in central Brooklyn and southern Queens.
Haitian leaders and Democratic lawmakers have criticized Trump’s actions, alleging that they stem from racism and a disdain for immigrants. Rep. Yvette Clarke (D-Brooklyn) remarked, “This is horrific for the people of my district, many of whom have family members who are in Haiti right now. They see their family living in the U.S. as a lifeline. It’s just more of the cruelty, especially when it comes to the Haitian diaspora.”
Clarke elaborated on the myriad challenges that New York Haitian families and businesses will face when the ban takes effect. “It could be Grandma coming for lifesaving medical treatment or a niece or nephew coming for a wedding or going for a funeral,” she said. “It’s all the things that we as families do. It’s unjust, and for what?”
Vania Andre, editor and publisher of The Haitian Times, remarked on the severe repercussions the community is experiencing due to the ban, which comes in addition to Trump’s broader anti-immigrant policies. She described the Little Haiti neighborhood in Flatbush, Brooklyn, as having become a “ghost town” after the revocation of Temporary Protected Status for Haitians, prompting both legal and undocumented immigrants to lie low.
“People are not sending their kids to school, not going to places where immigrants gather or congregate,” Andre said. “They’re afraid it’s going to be: Round up first and ask questions later.”
In a previous travel ban during Trump’s first term, Haiti was not included, and it is not listed on the government’s terror watch list. However, the White House has asserted that Haitian visitors were included in the new ban due to issues such as high rates of visa overstays and a significant number of Haitians entering the U.S. illegally.
As conditions in Haiti deteriorate due to chronic poverty, political instability, and rampant gang violence—with armed groups controlling at least 85% of the capital, Port-au-Prince—the impact of the travel ban is expected to be profound.
The ban is set to take effect at 12:01 a.m. on Monday, a timing that may be intentional to mitigate the chaos witnessed at airports when a similar ban was enacted in 2017 without warning.
In an unusual connection, President Trump linked the new ban to a recent anti-Israel terror attack in Boulder, Colorado, asserting that it highlighted the dangers associated with visitors who overstay their visas, despite the attacker being from Egypt, which is not on the restrictive list.
Several of the twelve countries featured in the travel ban were part of earlier similar restrictions during Trump’s first term. The newly affected countries include Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen.
Moreover, other nations are facing increased restrictions, including Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela.
The inclusion of Haiti in this latest travel ban is yet another blow to the community, which has already borne the brunt of Trump’s contempt for immigrants.
During his first term, Trump referred disparagingly to immigrants from “s—hole countries,” including Haiti. He has also perpetuated false narratives about Haitian immigrants, claiming they were engaging in abhorrent behaviors.
The administration has made moves to terminate a federal program that allowed over 532,000 individuals from Haiti, Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela to live and work legally in the United States, a decision recently upheld by the Supreme Court on May 30, allowing for the potential deportation of these immigrants.
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