29-01-2025
Haitians saw a special Biden entry program as a promise. Will Trump kick them out?
Trump on Day 1 killed a Biden-era program that helped people from certain countries, including Haiti, come to the U.S. under humanitarian parole.
It remains unclear what will happen to people who are already in the U.S. on the two-year parole.
Loueise Mary Pierristil, who is now seeking asylum, said Haitians were invited here under the past administration. "The right thing to do is for whoever is president to respect that."
SPRING VALLEY - The Trump administration announced just after the inauguration that a special humanitarian program for immigrants from chaotic and dangerous countries was terminated. The program, introduced by the Biden administration in 2023, lets certain immigrants with a sponsor into the U.S. as they seek asylum and a possible path to citizenship.
Almost half of those using the program, said to be given "humanitarian parole," are from Haiti.
But what about those participants who are already here, including an estimated 3,000 now living in Rockland County?
Will the Trump administration allow them to complete the next step, which usually includes securing asylum and a pathway to citizenship?
"I hope so," said Renold Julien, CEO of Konbit Neg Lakay, a community center in Spring Valley that's been helping immigrants since 1996.
Loueise Mary Pierristil agreed.
"I was invited by President Biden," he said during a break from a morning English class that Konbit provides. "The right thing to do is for whoever is president to respect that."
Homeland Security says program fed 'invasion'
There has been no official word for what comes next for humanitarian parole recipients already here.
But a Jan. 21 statement by Homeland Security said the program had been "abused" and had allowed an "invasion."
Trump throughout the presidential campaign blasted immigration programs, especially those that supported Haitians.
One of the most memorable comments about Haitian immigration came during the presidential debates, when Trump repeated rebutted rumors that Haitian immigrants in Ohio were "eating the pets."
What is the 'Biden Program'?
Biden in 2023 reopened a special humanitarian parole pathway, given the government shorthand of CHNV, for people from dangerous, corrupt and chaotic countries like Haiti, Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua.
Many who have been granted the status call it the "Biden Program."
To qualify, a person needs to have a sponsor in the U.S. who can demonstrate the ability to provide any needed financial support. The parole status is for two years and provides necessary working papers. During the parole, a person can seek asylum, which provides a pathway to U.S. citizenship.
As of December 2024, some 531,690 had been come to the U.S. under CHNV, with more than 40% coming from Haiti.
Choosing faith in the U.S.
Lauture Jean is among those seeking humanitarian parole who ended up in Spring Valley, long a nexus of Haitian community and culture that boasts the second-largest, per capita, Haitian population in the U.S.
Like Jean, many joined the "Biden Program" because their lives were in danger in the chaos of Haiti's political instability. Jean was a high-ranking police officer in Haiti, and became a target of gangs.
He received humanitarian parole in September 2023. His two-year window under parole would give him until September this year to establish some sort of permanent residency.
Jean is well into the asylum application process — he's even submitted fingerprints — and has faith that the application process would be allowed to proceed under Trump's changing policies.
"I can continue to be afraid of going back to Haiti," he said in Haitian Creole. He said he has faith that the commitment the U.S. made will stand.
Fulfilling promise is 'the right thing to do'
Most of the Biden Program participants are employed, often in jobs that offer nowhere near the pay or prestige of their professional careers in Haiti.
Pierristil was an engineer in Haiti; now he's cleaning Konbit's offices.
Was it his dream to come to the U.S. someday? For a vacation, he said.
But with his home country unstable and his family there still in hiding, he now hopes to get asylum and U.S. citizenship and bring his loved ones to safety here.
Pierristil arrived in May 2023, so his two-year period to make a plan ends this May.
'Invited' to U.S.
St. Jacques Pierre arrived to New York on humanitarian parole last May. He had been involved in politics in his hometown. It became dangerous for him and his wife, which endangered his extended family; when the couple left, things seemed to calm down for the rest of the family, he said.
Pierre's two sons, ages 13 and 10, are in Haiti, living with their grandparents. He said he dreams of going back to Haiti, if things were safe and calm.
But he is building a life here, applying for asylum and planning to bring his two boys to the U.S.
Julien of Konbit said that people from all over the world come to the U.S. seeking safety and security.
As the leader of a U.S. Department of Justice-recognized agency, Julien said he keeps close tabs on immigration enforcement, as well as the political rhetoric and tone.
"Why the only people the administration is running after are Black and Latinos?" he wondered. "My people, they were invited by the U.S."
