Haitian-American legislators and Caribbean-American U.S. Rep. Yvette D. Clarke have collectively expressed profound outrage, strongly condemning President Donald J. Trump’s rapid journey ban barring individuals from 12 nations, together with Haiti, from coming into the US.
Apart from Haiti, Trump on Wednesday banned individuals from Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen from coming into the US.
The US President additionally restricted vacationers from Cuba, Venezuela, Burundi, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo and Turkmenistan.”
Photo courtesy Workplace of New York State Assemblywoman Rodneyse Bichotte-Hermelyn
“It’s with outrage and concern that Trump’s administration has imposed a brand new journey ban that disproportionately impacts African and Caribbean nations, together with Haiti,“ New York State Meeting Member Rodnesye Bichotte-Hermelyn, the Haitian-American chair of the Brooklyn Democratic Get together, advised Caribbean Life on Thursday.
“Because the daughter of Haitian immigrants, I condemn this discriminatory coverage in opposition to Haiti and different nations,“ added the consultant for the forty second Meeting District in Brooklyn. “This determination will create chaos, threaten households, and hurt diplomatic relations, inflicting worry and uncertainty.
“I urge People to oppose Trump’s racist and xenophobic insurance policies and combat to revive democracy in our legislative, govt, and judicial branches,“ Bichotte Hermelyn continued.
New York Metropolis Council Member Farah N. Louis, the daughter of Haitian and Bahamian immigrants, mentioned Trump’s determination to impose journey restrictions on 12 nations, together with Haiti, “represents a despicable and deeply troubling second for our group.
“Haiti is as soon as once more being unfairly focused, and that is clearly an intentional assault on our identification and dignity,“ the consultant for the forty fifth Council District in Brooklyn advised Caribbean Life. “This federal authorities has exhibited ongoing hostility towards Haiti and Haitian nationals in the US—individuals who have fought to make their residence right here and invested closely in our financial system whereas supporting our shared values.
“Stories of this current and rapid journey ban compound the disaster we’re already confronting—the administration’s large deportation efforts scheduled for August 2025,“ Louis added.
She mentioned that turning away Haitians fleeing violence and political instability is a “merciless coverage wrapped in false justification.
“The US has an ethical obligation to guard, not punish, the weak,“ the Council Member mentioned. “This determination punishes individuals fleeing disaster and betrays the values we declare to uphold.“
Louis disclosed that the Nationwide Haitian American Group Community — uniting Haitian elected officers and govt leaders nationwide — will quickly announce “a complete, coordinated nationwide technique to help Haitian nationals affected by this current determination.
“Collectively, we stand dedicated to defending our group and making certain their voices are heard,“ she mentioned.
Louis’s Metropolis Council colleague Rita Joseph, the Haitian-born consultant for the fortieth Council District in Brooklyn, additionally advised Caribbean Life that Trump “fails to acknowledge the humanitarian disaster driving the instability in Haiti.
“This journey ban punishes those that are victims of extraordinary violence, lawlessness, and political instability,“ she mentioned. “The state of affairs in Haiti is, certainly, dire – over 5,600 individuals have been killed in gang violence in 2024 alone, and a million individuals have been displaced, half of whom are youngsters.
“The nation faces what the United Nations has referred to as “a degree of no return,” with almost half of the inhabitants going through excessive ranges of acute meals insecurity,“ she added. “Fairly than closing our doorways to Haitian nationals fleeing this violence, we must be working with the Haitian group within the Diaspora and at residence together with worldwide companions to deal with the basis causes of the disaster.”
Joseph famous that gang violence has expanded into new areas, with no less than 4 massacres claiming over 400 lives in current months.
“The Haitian persons are not the supply of this instability – they’re its victims,“ she mentioned. “These journey restrictions come at a time when Haiti desperately wants worldwide help, not isolation. Almost half of the Haitian inhabitants wants some type of humanitarian help, and slicing off pathways for authorized migration solely compounds the struggling of these in search of security and alternative.”
The council member referred to as on Trump to rethink these restrictions as they apply to Haiti and as an alternative concentrate on Supporting efforts to revive safety and stability with the individuals of Haiti, facilitating humanitarian help to deal with the rapid wants of the Haitian individuals, akin to famine, financial instability, healthcare and extra; and dealing with regional companions to sort out the movement of weapons fueling gang violence.
Joseph additionally urged the Trump administration to conduct congressional oversight on the unlawful movement of weapons into Haiti and the broader Caribbean area and to take care of pathways for Haitian nationals to hunt refuge and alternative in the US.
“Our nation has all the time been strengthened by those that have come right here in search of a greater life, together with many members of our Haitian group who’ve contributed immeasurably to our metropolis’s character and financial system,“ she mentioned. “We should not flip our backs on them of their hour of biggest want.
“As a New York Metropolis Council Member who represents a big Haitian group in my district, I’ll stay steadfast in my advocacy for his or her safety and help,“ she added. “The reply to Haiti’s disaster is to not slam the door shut, however to increase a serving to hand whereas working towards lasting options that restore peace, stability, and prosperity.“
Caribbean-American U.S. Rep. Yvette D. Clarke described Trump’s determination as “bigotry within the identify of safety.
“We’ve seen it earlier than,“ mentioned the daughter of Jamaican immigrants, who represents the ninth Congressional District in Brooklyn. “We bear in mind the Muslim Ban and what he needed to say about ‘shit gap‘ nations. His hate isn’t new.
“However tonight (Wednesday), the president noticed the world’s most struggling individuals, and he selected to make them undergo extra,“ added the chair of the Congressional Black Caucus. “What sort of man is he?”
In a White Home proclamation on Wednesday, Trump famous that, throughout his first administration, he restricted the entry of international nationals into the US, “which efficiently prevented nationwide safety threats from reaching our borders and which the Supreme Courtroom upheld.”
In an govt order, “Defending the US From International Terrorists and Different Nationwide Safety and Public Security Threats,” when he resumed workplace on Jan. 20, 2025, Trump acknowledged that “it’s the coverage of the US to guard its residents from aliens who intend to commit terrorist assaults, threaten our nationwide safety, espouse hateful ideology, or in any other case exploit the immigration legal guidelines for malevolent functions.“
Trump additionally recalled that he’d acknowledged that “the US have to be vigilant throughout the visa-issuance course of to make sure that these aliens accredited for admission into the US don’t intend to hurt People or our nationwide pursuits.
“Extra importantly, the US should establish such aliens earlier than their admission or entry into the US,“ he mentioned.
“The US should be certain that admitted aliens and aliens in any other case already current in the US don’t bear hostile attitudes towards its residents, tradition, authorities, establishments, or founding rules, and don’t advocate for support, or help designated international terrorists or different threats to our nationwide safety,“ he added.
Trump mentioned his strategy was “designed to encourage cooperation with the topic nations in recognition of every nation’s distinctive circumstances.
“The restrictions and limitations imposed by this proclamation are, in my judgment, crucial to forestall the entry or admission of international nationals about whom the US Authorities lacks ample info to evaluate the dangers they pose to the US,“ he mentioned.
“The restrictions and limitations imposed by this proclamation are essential to garner cooperation from international governments, implement our immigration legal guidelines, and advance different vital international coverage, nationwide safety, and counterterrorism targets,“ Trump added.
