‘I want to stay longer': Haitian man, family members worry about deportations with protections rescinded
LAKELAND, Fla. (WFLA) – Members of two Polk County families said they are devastated over decisions by the Trump administration that threaten to deport their loved ones back to Haiti, a war-torn, gang-controlled country.
'These are people. This is not stuff that we're moving around. These are people's lives,' said Dawn Chappelear.
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Chappelear and her husband, John, moved to Haiti in 2013 to do full-time missionary work.
During their time there, they met Cabila Toussaint, a Haitian boy.
Due to issues with paperwork and age restrictions, they were never able to legally adopt him but they consider each other family.
Over the years, Toussaint, who is now 28 years old, said he went back and forth from the United States to Haiti on travel visas.
The last time he was there, he said, he was robbed twice.
'I would rather get shot right away instead of going back to Haiti right now, a place where people are dying and they cannot find the body or they cannot bury them,' said Toussaint.
In May 2024, Toussaint was granted humanitarian parole.
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He said he was recently promoted at his job at a national retail chain in Winter Haven.
'I was supposed to be here for two years and I love it and I want to stay longer,' said Toussaint.
He said he wants to keep working in the U.S. so he can send money back to his friends and family in Haiti.
His status in America is in jeopardy after the Trump administration announced it is rescinding Haiti's temporary protection status.
A Department of Homeland Security said the program has been 'abused and exploited' for decades.
'President Trump and Secretary Noem are returning TPS to its original status: temporary,' read a statement from a DHS spokesperson.
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The move rescinds an 18-month extension put in place by the Biden administration.
'I can honestly say that I regret voting for Trump. What is happening now is not what was forecasted. It's not what was stated,' said Chappelear.
Toussaint, and others on humanitarian parole from Haiti, Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela, could face deportation starting April 24.
'We help people. We do things to stand in the gap when people are in need and this doesn't look like that at all,' said John Chappelear about American values. 'As a country, we gave our word to them and now we're backing off of that and it's disheartening.'
'The weapons continue to flow into Haiti and the people continue to be terrorized there,' said Stacey Angulo.
Angulo said she also supported President Trump's election and grapples with whether she would support him knowing what she knows now.
'The platform that I felt like I took away from his campaign was we're going to go after the criminals and even maybe the illegals,' said Angulo.
After the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, Angulo adopted her son Marven, who is now 15 years old.
In 2023, Marven's biological mother and sister, who do not wish to be identified, were granted humanitarian parole and last year, received temporary protected status.
The document granting that status said it was valid through February 2026.
Both women have jobs in the community, according to Angulo.
With the Trump administration revoking Haiti's temporary protected status, Marven's family members could be deported.
Angulo said she is confused by the letter which states their humanitarian parole will be revoked on April 24 but other DHS announcements have stated temporary protection status recipients have until August 3.
'Either way we're facing a potential risk of deportation into a completely war-torn country,' said Angulo. 'If you have 211,000 Haitians that are now sent back to their country with American ties and American families, so to speak, how is that going to play out with gangs that are already notorious for kidnappings and ransoms?'
The families said they are seeking help from legal counsel and a meeting with Rep. Scott Franklin's office.
They are also watching national lawsuits closely, including one involving Venezuelan TPS recipients.
'It's not just painful for our family, it's painful for their work family, their neighbors, the people they've built relationships with, the people in our church who have come to know them,' said Angulo.
News Channel 8 reached out to Rep. Franklin's office for comment and has not heard back.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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