Haiti’s interim president Leslie Voltaire said his country would be devastated to accept its own citizens repatriated from the United States under Trump’s mass deportation plan. Voltaire was speaking to the Associated Press while meeting Pope Francis at the Vatican.
The Haitian leader stated that receiving the country’s immigrants would be “catastrophic” for the Caribbean country and thus appealed for assistance from other countries.
“I’m knocking on the doors of people who love Haiti. The pope loves Haiti, and he is eager to help,” Voltaire said.
He noted that more than 1.5 million Haitians reside in the United States, with more than 150,000 accepted under the “Temporary Protection System.” According to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), more than 214,000 Haitians were vetted and allowed to travel, while over 210,000 were paroled by the end of August 2024.
“Trump says that he will expel all of them,” the interim president stated.
With thousands more being repatriated from other South American countries, the interim president said Trump’s new policies would be catastrophic for Haiti.
“Trump said that Haiti is a ‘shithole,’ so I don’t think he will care about Haiti,” Voltaire said.
Clark County, which includes Springfield, Ohio, has between 10,000 and 12,000 Haitian immigrants living in the area. According to Springfield Mayor Rob Rue, the city’s population increased by 25% in three years due to Haitian immigrants settling there. Local leaders are already decrying the catastrophic results of the rapid population growth caused by Haitian illegal immigrants.
“Any system is going to struggle with the rapid population growth we have seen,” Clark County Health Commissioner Chris Cook said while appealing for more resources.
According to the United Nations, Haitian gangs killed more than 5,600 people in 2024, a 20% increase from 2023. While U.S. immigration authorities “vet” illegal immigrants, they use domestic crime and immigration databases and rarely consult with countries of origin. This practice results in almost every illegal immigrant having a clean record unless they had previously entered the United States and committed a crime here.
Subsequently, some gang members, fugitives, and people who committed very serious crimes in their home countries are allowed into the United States. Thousands of Haitian gang members are already in the United States and are involved in various crimes, including gun trafficking.
While Haiti’s interim president expects Trump to consider Haiti’s situation, his primary job is to keep Americans safe by removing security threats. ICE recently detained an irate Haitian illegal immigrant with 17 prior convictions who vowed not to return to his country.
Meanwhile, Haiti is hardly the only country that refuses to accept its citizens deported from the United States. Colombia recently agreed to take back its deported citizens only after President Trump applied pressure by threatening 25% tariffs on the country’s products, which would increase to 50% in addition to visa denials.
While Democrats describe immigrants as “hard-working” and “law-abiding” undocumented people, Trump has insisted that foreign countries do not send their best and brightest across the border. These countries’ refusal to accept these “outstanding” citizens further corroborates Trump’s claim.
Haiti’s a very curious place There’s weird things ,abnormal ,illegal criminal things flourishing there. It’s strange imo how it’s all kept hidden .
How about Guantonamo Bay, Cuba? More to your liking?
TEMPORARY Protection System.
Times up.