Maryse Balthazar has not always had an easy life since leaving Haiti to settle in the United States. But she was generally at ease before Donald Trump returned to power.
“We didn’t have this kind of anxiety, like: +will they come and get me?+,” says the nursing assistant to AFP, reached by phone from Boynton Beach, Florida. “It’s terrifying.”
Maryse Balthazar, who moved to the United States after the devastating earthquake that hit Haiti in 2010, is among some 350,000 Haitian nationals benefiting from Temporary Protected Status (TPS), which prohibits their deportation to countries deemed dangerous.
For most of them, going back to their country, plagued by gangs and poverty, is not an option.
However, Donald Trump and Kristi Noem, recently ousted from her position as Secretary of Homeland Security, have attempted several times to end TPS for Haitians.
The Trump administration had planned to terminate the program on February 3, but the decision was suspended the day before by a federal judge.
This decision was welcomed by Colin O’Leary, director of a nursing home in Boston that employs many Haitian workers, like many healthcare institutions. “We thought we would lose a significant part of our staff,” he recounts.
Despite this judicial decision, testimonies of job losses are multiplying within the Haitian diaspora in the United States, with some employers becoming hesitant due to the uncertainties surrounding TPS.
Maryse Balthazar shares that her son lost his receptionist job.
Doris Etheart, manager of a Caribbean grocery store in New York, also reports that two of her cousins who arrived in 2024 were laid off from their security guard positions.
As for the influx in Brooklyn’s Haitian neighborhood, it has significantly decreased.
– “They are hiding” –
“They all live in fear, they are hiding,” explains an American born to Haitian parents who arrived in the United States in the 1990s.
The current judicial battle revives a legal fight that began during Donald Trump’s first term. His attempts to end TPS were then blocked by the courts.
In her decision, Judge Ana Reyes describes Haiti as “a country plunged into chaos and crisis,” relying on statements from Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
She also notes a government “hostility” towards non-white immigrants, citing Kristi Noem who referred to them as “killers, parasites, and profiteers of social benefits.”
The ruling also underscores the role of Haitian labor in several key sectors, generating 5.2 billion dollars in annual tax revenue.
An initiative was also launched in Congress by Massachusetts Democrat Representative Ayanna Pressley, supported by more than 170 people, to mandate the continuation of TPS for Haiti.
Community advocates have encouraged businesses employing Haitian immigrants to lobby behind the scenes with the government.
“Companies fear defending their interests (publicly) because they fear retaliation,” explains Brian Concannon, executive director of the Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti.
The Haitian community remains extremely distrustful, especially as the Trump administration filed a request with the Supreme Court on Wednesday to suspend Ms. Reyes’ order.
Eno Mondesir, a public health official in Massachusetts and a pastor, advises Haitian nationals to find trustworthy friends to care for their children in case of detention.
“I never expected to see such a complete disregard for human rights and such a violation of the Constitution and the rule of law in the United States,” he declares.
The current mobilization brings some hope to Maryse Balthazar, who anxiously follows the proceedings. “We have many people fighting for us,” she says. “Together, we can win. Alone, it’s difficult.”
Published on March 13 at 7:51 PM, AFP
