U.S. to deport some Haitian permanent residents
July 22 (UPI) -- The Trump administration has said it will deport Haitian nationals with permanent resident status in the United States who are accused of supporting or collaborating with gangs the White House has labeled foreign terrorist organizations.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio made the announcement in a statement Monday, saying the actions of these Haitian individuals and their presence in the United States have "potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences."
Neither the identities of the Haitian nationals to be deported nor the number to be expelled from the country were made public, though U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Monday announced the arrest of Haitian national Pierre Reginald Boulos. The Miami Herald reported that Boulos, 69, is an American-born entrepreneur, physician and influential political powerbroker in Haiti.
ICE said Boulos was arrested Thursday for violating the Immigration and Nationality Act for contributing to the destabilization of Haiti.
"Specifically, officials determined that he engaged in a campaign of violence and gang support that contributed to Haiti's destabilization," ICE said in the statement.
"Additionally, in his application to become a lawful permanent resident, he failed to disclose his involvement in the formation of a political party in Haiti, Mouvement pour la Transformation et la Valorisation d'Haiti, and that he was referred for prosecution by the Haitian government's unit for the Fight Against Corruption for misusing loans, supporting an additional ground of removability based on this fraud."
Rubio's statement, which was made public following the announcement of Boulos' arrest, says they have determined some Haitians with permanent resident status have supported or worked with Haitian gang leaders connected to Viv Ansanm, an organization that the State Department declared a Foreign Terrorist Organization in May, calling it "a primary source of instability and violence in Haiti."
"The United States will not allow individuals to enjoy the benefits of legal status in our country while they are facilitating the actions of violent organizations or supporting criminal terrorist organizations," Rubio said Monday.
The announcement comes as the Trump administration seeks to conduct mass deportations. As part of its efforts to fulfill the Trump administration's goal, the State Department has used the Immigration and Nationality Act to impose visa restrictions on foreign nationals and deport others.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hill
6 minutes ago
- The Hill
Van Hollen: ‘A big lie' that UN aid for Gaza has been ‘systematically' stolen by Hamas
Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) said Sunday there is no truth to claims that United Nations aid for Palestinians in Gaza has been 'systematically' stolen by Hamas. 'This is a big lie, the claim that when the U.N. organizations were delivering food to Palestinians, civilians, that it was being systematically diverted to Hamas,' Van Hollen told CBS News's Margaret Brennan on 'Face the Nation.' 'I want to say loudly and clearly, this is a big lie,' the Maryland senator added. On Sunday, Trump said Hamas is stealing food that was meant for people in Gaza, saying to reporters on multiple occasions that goods are being stolen as he was pressed on the hunger crisis in the region. Trump, alongside President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen in Turnberry, Scotland, was questioned about his response to the images of starving children in Gaza. 'When I see the children and when I see, especially over the last couple of weeks people are stealing the food, they're stealing the money, they're stealing the money for the food. They're stealing weapons, they're stealing everything,' the president said. 'It's a mess, that whole place is a mess. The Gaza Strip, you know it was given many years ago so they could have peace. That didn't work out too well,' Trump continued. House Speaker Mike Johnson echoed Trump on Sunday's 'Meet the Press' on NBC News. 'This is important to note: Israel, since this war began, has supplied over 94,000 truckloads full of food. It's enough food to feed 2 million people for two years trying to get that into Gaza. But Hamas has stolen the food, a huge amount,' Johnson said. He also criticized 'the system,' calling it 'broken,' adding that beginning tomorrow, the Israeli military will open 'new channels of distribution to get it [food] to those people who are desperately in need.' Former President Obama said on Sunday that 'aid must be permitted to reach people in Gaza.' 'There is no justification for keeping food and water away from civilian families,' the former president added in a post on the social platform X on Sunday.
Boston Globe
6 minutes ago
- Boston Globe
'Relieved': Educators await Trump administration to release $6 billion in frozen funding
Advertisement The Trump administration announced the funding freeze on June 30, a day before the money was supposed to be sent to school districts in both New England and across the nation. It was another move toward the White House's goal to dismantle the Education Department, as President Trump argues that classrooms are teaching left-wing ideology. In Massachusetts, the freeze translated into $108 million withheld, leaving many districts scrambling to ensure they could still provide services during the summer months and the upcoming fall semester, with some cancelling summer programs entirely. In addition to training educators Advertisement Ray Hart, executive director of the Council of the Great City Schools, a nationwide association of urban districts that includes Boston, said in a statement they're 'relieved' about the administration releasing the funds 'for the benefit of schoolchildren throughout our nation.' In Rhode Island, education commissioner Angélica Infante-Green said, 'On behalf of Rhode Island's students, families, and teachers,' it is 'relieved to hear that the congressionally approved education funding is set to be released.' The Education Department 'will begin dispersing funds to states next week,' said Madi Biedermann, a spokesperson for the department, in a statement Friday. Biedermann said the Office of Management and Budget completed its review of the grants and directed the Education Department to release the funding. The move comes after the District of Columbia and 24 states, including Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Maine, 'It is impossible for states to effectively budget for an upcoming school year ... when the president takes the football away from us, like Lucy in a Charlie Brown cartoon,' said Peter Neronha, Rhode Island Attorney General, at a press conference announcing the lawsuit earlier this month. Related : A coalition of school districts and teachers' unions, including the Rhode Island Federation of Teachers and Health Professionals, Susan Collins, a Republican senator from Maine, and Ed Markey, a Democratic senator from Massachusetts, were among the politicians who criticized the freeze and demanded the administration release the money. Advertisement 'Every day that goes by without this education funding hurts our students, educators, and communities,' said Pedro Martinez, Commissioner of the Massachusetts Department for Elementary and Secondary Education, in a statement Thursday. 'We are still recovering from pandemic learning loss, and these federal funds are directly related to improving student academic achievement.' In early July, Governor Maura Healey said in a statement that districts would be forced to lay off staff, delay or cancel programs, and disrupt learning. 'Our schools were promised this funding, and the Trump Administration needs to deliver it,' Healey said. In a survey by the School Superintendents Association, about three-quarters said they would cut academic programs, and half said they would lay off teachers if funding was not restored. In a statement, the executive director of the association, David Schuler, said he was 'pleased' with the news of the funding being released. Some programs saw an immediate, negative impact following the freeze, including the The program, which has operated in Massachusetts since 1966, aims to address the toll on children's education caused by the frequent moves, as students transfer between different school districts or miss school altogether to work alongside their parents. In Springfield, 9-year-old Ery Perez Gutierrez last summer focused on sharpening his academic skills at Advertisement Ery is among hundreds of children in Massachusetts spending the summer at home because of the funding freeze. President Trump had proposed cutting the Migrant Education Program altogether in the next Last year, the grant served 438 students for summer programs statewide, said Emily Hoffman, director of the program in Massachusetts. The loss of the program at Boland Elementary is 'heartbreaking' and a 'huge step backwards,' as students are going without much-needed services, said Lisa Bakowski, the school's principal, who oversaw the program for the past three summers. Bakowski said the children enrolled in the program are among the most vulnerable in the community. Their parents work in the fields all day and often don't speak English. 'It sickens me that it's become a political issue when it really should never have been,' Bakowski said. 'It's about the betterment of humanity and being able to work to assist and provide for pockets of our community that need it.' Related : Other programs targeted in the freeze weren't immediately impacted. The largest grant frozen, known as Advertisement In previous years, Boston Public Schools used the funding to provide additional support for the district's recruitment efforts and educator preparation, including through an intensive 12-month program that prepares aspiring teachers to enter the classroom at no cost to them. Following the freeze announcement, BPS 'identified temporary one-time funding to maintain these efforts, which will continue in Fiscal Year 2026 despite the funding freeze with the hopes that the funding will eventually be available,' a spokesperson said in a statement Thursday. Massachusetts districts received $27 million in fiscal year 2025 for teacher training, with BPS receiving about Marcela Rodrigues can be reached at
Politico
24 minutes ago
- Politico
Ohio State president says he feels 'no pressure' after White House complaints
Carter's comments come shortly after the Trump administration announced the school — of which Vice President JD Vance is an alum — is one of 60 universities it has deemed may have antisemitic practices and policies on campus. Still, Carter said he is 'not feeling a lot of pressure.' 'We know how we acted during the time of the protests. We never had an encampment here at Ohio State,' he said, adding that some students did try to occupy tents in campus but were dispersed. 'I'm confident that as this plays out forward, that we're going to be just fine,' he said. Carter also appeared to agree with Vance's assertions that higher education has started to build a 'reputation' of being 'controlled by left wing foundations.' 'There was this conversation about the potential indoctrination of students, or that institutions were leaning very liberal,' Carter said. 'We as administrators of higher education maybe ought to listen to the American public and say, maybe we haven't always gotten it right. So I'm here to say, here at the Ohio State University, we have paid attention to that.' The Trump administration has been embroiled in battles with universities over hiring and admissions practices for several months. mixed in with complaints about general 'wokeness.' Most notably, the administration threatened to withhold federal funding from Ivy League schools including Harvard and Columbia.
