In Miami, which hosts the largest Haitian community in the country, Archbishop Wenski described Haitian residents as “very tense, very nervous” as they await whatever comes next.
The full impact of the loss of as many as 200,000 members of the U.S. workforce is only now becoming apparent. Ms. Dieudonne pointed out that Haitian immigrants have a strong role in America’s health care and IT industries; they have been employed in light manufacturing and delivery and shipping services and in the nation’s air travel, hospitality and restaurant industries. It is not clear if Trump officials have thought through the social and economic implications of the dislocation they are pursuing, she suggested.
“These people were legal, and you made them illegal,” she said. “That’s the crux of it.”
Ms. Dieudonne said that a lot of her recent work has been devoted to helping employers understand that they may be able to keep Haitian employees on their payrolls because they remain protected by asylum claims and other immigration statuses despite losing T.P.S.
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