Florndjie Camey, 31, once envisioned a brighter future after she secured a cashier’s job in Miami, a significant step forward from her bleak origins in Haiti, where she struggled to provide for herself and her young daughter.
However, that hope began to dissolve when President Donald Trump declared that she, along with over one million others, no longer had the legal right to remain in the United States.
Desiring to cement his legacy through the largest mass deportation in U.S. history, Trump judged the parole program established by the Biden administration, which allowed Camey and many others to legally enter the country, as unlawful.
Trump has pledged to remove those who are unlawfully in the U.S., and the newly revised criteria will likely expand the pool of individuals at risk of deportation.
Angela Kelley, an adviser at the American Immigration Law Center and former senior immigration adviser under the Biden administration, characterized Trump’s policies as a ‘self-fulfilling prophecy.’
‘If you’re looking for the definition of “self-fulfilling prophecy,” look no further than Trump’s stream of policies that intentionally take legal status away from people,’ Kelley noted.
‘By de-legalizing them, he creates a larger class of undocumented people who become easy targets for deportation.’
This strategy, as discussed by Kelley, aligns with an increase in the number of immigrants who could face deportation through a quicker process, subsequently aiding Trump’s aim of eliminating one million immigrants annually.
Critics point out the irony in Trump’s promise to focus on deporting criminals, as the undocumented population has grown largely due to the policies that strip legal status from individuals who began as documented residents.
The crisis escalated when, on May 30, the U.S. Supreme Court permitted the administration to revoke the temporary permissions for over 500,000 immigrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela (referred to as the CHNV program).
Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem’s notice demanded that those impacted by the CHNV program ‘self-deport’ immediately.
Various immigration groups, however, have disputed the administration’s claims about the legality of the Biden program.
Guerline Jozef, executive director and founder of the Haitian Bridge Alliance, expressed deep concern for those affected, emphasizing that many had trusted the U.S. government and undergone rigorous vetting to acquire legal status.
‘Now they are having the rug violently pulled out from under them,’ she stated.
The Trump administration has maintained that the humanitarian parole granted via the CHNV program inadequately enhanced border security and complicated enforcement inside the U.S.
In their defense, they argued that the parole should have been implemented more narrowly.
Following the Supreme Court’s ruling, the administration labeled participants in the CHNV program as ‘poorly vetted’ and claimed they were taking jobs away from American citizens, asserting that their integration only encouraged further illegal immigration.
In response to this, White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson emphasized Trump’s commitment to reforming the immigration system, stating that terminating the CHNV Parole was crucial to fulfilling that promise.
She highlighted that while parole is a temporary benefit intended for urgent humanitarian circumstances, it was being misused and undermined the rights of American citizens.
Steve Camarota, director of research for the Center for Immigration Studies, supported the administration’s actions.
He noted that the continuation of prior parole policies contributed to the border crisis under Biden, insisting that the situation would not resolve without terminating these policies.
Yet, many critics argue that while Trump’s administration emphasizes deportations, it has not taken significant steps to expand legal pathways for immigrants to obtain work authorization or adjust their statuses.
Business and agricultural sectors have repeatedly expressed the necessity of more visas for workers to maintain a stable labor force amid falling U.S. birth rates.
Stuart Anderson, executive director for the National Foundation for American Policy, articulated the growing frustration regarding the lack of progress on legal immigration processes, asserting that conditions have worsened rather than improved under the current administration.
Despite vague suggestions from Trump that some agricultural and hotel workers could be allowed to return if sponsored by their employers, these moves have yet to materialize into substantive policy changes.
In addition to terminating the CHNV program, the administration has enforced travel bans affecting multiple countries, including Haiti, where access to temporary and immigrant visas is nearly barred.
As Camey reflected on her previous life in Haiti, she recalled how she worked to assist youth in need and resumed her psychology studies, all while living in rural Fort Liberté.
Despite being less affected by the violence in Port-au-Prince, she witnessed growing gang influence extending into her home region.
Camey described her existence in Haiti as one without hope for the future, where saving even for basic needs like a vehicle felt impossible.
Many others like her faced even graver challenges, lacking essential resources for survival.
Camey’s eventual sponsorship by her aunt allowed her to migrate to the U.S., creating opportunities to work and support not only her daughter but also her family back in Haiti.
‘It felt like a second chance at life. I’m someone who likes to work and has a strong willpower. It was a new experience and a new beginning,’ she recalled.
With the CHNV parole program being temporary — lasting up to two years — many who were granted legal status would face uncertainty and be forced to look for alternative options like Temporary Protected Status (TPS) or asylum to remain in the U.S.
However, these alternatives also carry complications, as Trump’s administration is working towards revoking TPS for approximately 350,000 Venezuelan immigrants.
In addition, nearly 300,000 more individuals from countries like Afghanistan, Cameroon, and Haiti, who were granted TPS — which provides protection for limited periods and is extendable — are also under threat.
To compound the crisis, more than 900,000 immigrants who entered through the Biden administration’s CBP One app have received orders to leave the country.
This group includes individuals with pending asylum claims and TPS recipients.
Some have faced arrests and whose fates entwined with detention facilities notorious for their brutal conditions.
The administration’s plans extend to stripping citizenship from children born to non-citizen parents, regardless of their circumstances.
According to the Migration Policy Institute, ending birthright citizenship for children of unauthorized immigrants would exponentially increase the unauthorized population, impacting millions for generations.
Analysis from MPI-Penn State predicted that Trump’s initiative could add an estimated 2.7 million unauthorized individuals by 2045, and up to 5.4 million by 2075.
Yearly, around 255,000 newborns in the U.S. would enter the world lacking citizenship due to these policies.
Camarota observed that these measures are being challenged in court, indicating that the administration is acting swiftly to implement their stance on immigration.
He asserted that while previous administrations allowed parole and TPS programs to persist beyond their intended temporary nature, Trump is determined to reverse those trends.
‘It’s not absurd that the longer people are here, they do have more of a claim on our conscience, but that is what we are trying to avoid,’ Camarota expressed, emphasizing a clear objective to encourage voluntary departures.
As Camey and her compatriots faced the grim prospect of returning to Haiti, they contemplated alternative countries for relocation, with many opting for Canada, Chile, Mexico, or the Virgin Islands.
Camey, who has applied for Temporary Protected Status, feels she has no choice but to consider leaving the U.S.
‘I would never stay (here) undocumented,’ she affirmed emphatically.
‘All I know is I won’t go back to Haiti.’
image source from：nbcnews
