Some Haitian-American legislators in Brooklyn have described as “faux information” a video broadly circulating on social media purportedly exhibiting Haitian nationals preventing again in opposition to makes an attempt by brokers from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) company in looking for their deportation.
President Donald J. Trump had made deportation of Haitians and different immigrants the centerpiece of his election marketing campaign and has made mass deportation the central situation in his government orders.
Caribbean Life spoke with a number of Haitian-American legislators, who stated that they had seen the video on YouTube and Instagram however couldn’t confirm its origin or authenticity.
Some Haitian politicians dismissed the video as “faux information.”
“Whereas we’re nonetheless verifying the main points surrounding the video circulating, one factor is evident: the Haitian-American neighborhood is deeply involved and annoyed by the dangerous and unjust insurance policies of ICE below the Trump administration,“ New York Metropolis Council Member Mercedes Narcisse, the Haitian-born consultant for the forty sixth Council District in Brooklyn, instructed Caribbean Life.
“The concern and nervousness that these insurance policies have created are very actual, and it’s essential that we acknowledge the emotional and psychological toll they’re having on our households,“ she added. “The Haitian-American neighborhood has lengthy been a significant a part of New York Metropolis, and we stand in solidarity with these demanding respect, dignity, and a good course of.
“These insurance policies not solely threaten the well-being of our individuals but additionally undermine the values that this nation was constructed on, equality and justice,“ Narcisse continued. “We’ll proceed to advocate for insurance policies that defend immigrant communities, guarantee honest remedy, and uphold human rights.
“I encourage all to channel their frustration into productive motion, whether or not by way of peaceable protest or participating with elected officers who’re dedicated to creating actual change,“ she stated.
Within the interim, Haitian-American Assemblywoman Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn welcomed a federal decide’s ruling in Brooklyn on July 3 in favor of Non permanent Protected Standing (TPS) for Haitian immigrants.
Decide Brian M. Cogan of the Federal District Courtroom in Brooklyn, on July 1, blocked Trump from ending TPS for greater than 520,000 Haitians who’re already in the US.
Decide Cogan dominated that the president’s try to instantly rescind TPS for Haitians, a lot of whom have lived within the US for greater than a decade, is illegal.
The decide’s ruling preserves the Biden administration’s extension of TPS for Haitians till at the very least Feb. 3, 2026.
“I commend the federal courtroom’s choice to dam the Trump administration from prematurely and cruelly ending Non permanent Protected Standing for Haitian nationals,“ Bichotte Hermelyn, the primary Haitian-American serving within the New York State Legislature from New York Metropolis and chair of the Brooklyn Democratic Celebration, instructed Caribbean Life.
“I applaud SEIU 32BJ, which led the lawsuit, and all authorized advocates for standing up for justice, together with our State Legal professional Normal Letitia James,“ added Bichotte Hermelyn, the daughter of Haitian immigrants, who represents the forty second Meeting District in Brooklyn.
32BJ of the Service Workers Worldwide Union (SEIU), the biggest property service employees’ native union in the US, sued the Trump administration, citing Trump’s “unlawful efforts to vacate the Biden administration’s designation and expose tons of of 1000’s of hard-working individuals, a lot of whom have spent a long time dwelling and dealing within the US, to deportation inside simply two months.“
Bichotte Hermelyn stated Decide Cogan’s choice “upholds our constitutional values, recognizing the horrific realities in Haiti, whereas defending the authorized rights of Haitians who constructed new lives right here, and have known as the US house for over a decade.
“This pivotal ruling affirms the basic authorized precept that our authorities can’t arbitrarily upend the lives of immigrants, who’ve constructed their households, careers, and communities on this nation below the safety of regulation,“ she stated.
“Haitian TPS recipients have escaped excessive terror and violence, as Haiti continues to grapple with unimaginable instability: rampant gang violence, political collapse, and the displacement of over 1,000,000 individuals,“ she added, stating that Haitian immigrants have used the chance to dwell within the US “to indelibly contribute to the material of New York Metropolis and your complete nation -achieving and serving as an outsized portion of our well being care employees, educators, small enterprise homeowners, and important frontline employees.“
The meeting member stated the US Division of Homeland Safety’s (DHS) try to take away these protections months earlier than their lawful expiration was “not solely merciless but additionally a blatant and focused violation of TPS designations.“
Due to this fact, she stated Decide Cogan’s ruling is “a significant reprieve from this unconscionable try.
“Nonetheless, this struggle is just not over,“ Bichotte Hermelyn warned. “We should stay vigilant in opposition to Republicans’ ongoing efforts to dismantle humanitarian protections by way of xenophobic mass deportation.
“New York resolutely stands with our Haitian neighborhood, and we’ll by no means cease preventing for our proper to dwell free from concern,“ she affirmed.
32BJ SEIU President Manny Pastreich instructed Caribbean Life that the courtroom victory “reveals not solely that we will struggle again, however we will win.
“We’re proud to have represented our Haitian members and the broader Haitian neighborhood – and we’re grateful to our union brother, Gerald Michaud, and his spouse, Nadége, for main the way in which,“ he added. “Because of at present’s victory, at the very least Haiti’s TPS designation will run by way of Feb. 3, 2026.
“And whereas the struggle is much from over, this is a vital step,“ Pastreich continued. “We’ll maintain preventing to verify this choice is upheld.
“We’ll maintain preventing for the rights of our members and all immigrants in opposition to the Trump administration – within the streets, within the office, and within the courts as effectively,“ he stated. “And after we struggle, we win.”
With greater than 185,000 members throughout 12 states and Washington, D.C., 32BJ SEIU is the nation’s largest property service employees union.
32BJ SEIU stated its members hail from 64 nations and converse 28 languages[nk1].
DHS Secretary Kristi Noem introduced the termination of TPS, leaving over 500,000 Haitians with out work permits and dealing with deportation.
The momentary parole program for Haitians expires on Aug. 3, 2025, and the termination takes impact on Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2025.
However, in his ruling, Decide Cogan stated, “Secretary Noem doesn’t have statutory or inherent authority to partially vacate a rustic’s TPS designation.“
Due to this fact, Decide Cogan dominated that Noem’s “partial vacatur have to be put aside as illegal below the (Administrative Process Act).”
He stated that “plaintiffs’ accidents are precise and imminent,“ stating that “they can’t be remedied by an award of cash damages.
“If the partial vacatur stays in impact till the ultimate decision of this case, plaintiffs will lose their proper to dwell and work in the US based mostly on what the courtroom has already discovered was an illegal motion,“ Decide Cogan added.
New York Legal professional Normal Letitia James had joined Bichotte Hermelyn in condemning Trump’s termination of TPS for Haiti amid the French-speaking Caribbean nation’s escalating humanitarian disaster.
James, thought-about a nationwide chief in authorized motion in opposition to the TPS revocation, forcefully denounced the sudden termination.
“The federal administration’s choice to finish Haitian TPS is flawed and shameful,“ she instructed Caribbean Life. “This merciless motion places our Haitian neighbors in peril, tears households aside, and damages our financial system.
“The Haitian neighborhood is a wealthy supply of pleasure and power for New York, and I’ll proceed to struggle for his or her rights and well-being, alongside Meeting Member Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn.
“The Division of Homeland Safety has said that circumstances in Haiti have improved. However that assertion is dangerously indifferent from the reality,“ she added. “Haiti stays below a Stage 4 ‘Do Not Journey‘ advisory by the US Division of State, citing life-threatening gang violence, kidnappings, and the absence of any dependable authorities infrastructure.
“If our personal federal authorities deems Haiti unsafe for Americans to go to, how can we justify deporting weak households to the exact same circumstances?“ requested James, urging the Trump administration to “promptly rethink this choice and prolong Non permanent Protected Standing for Haitian nationals.
Moreover, the New York Legal professional Normal urged the US Congress to enact laws that grants everlasting authorized standing to TPS holders, who’ve “persistently demonstrated their worth.“
