The metro station is called "Little Haiti". But on the streets of this neighborhood in New York's Brooklyn district, nothing reminds us of Caribbean liveliness anymore. Many shops are already closed in the afternoon. The tables in the restaurants remain empty and hairdresser Aliette has waited in vain for customers all day. "People no longer dare to go out on the streets. They are afraid of ICE."
At the end of July, US President Donald Trump issued a decree revoking the legal residency status of more than 300,000 Haitians. Around 40,000 of them live in New York. After the devastating earthquake in 2010, they were given “Temporary Protective Status” (TPS) in the USA. They lost everything in their old homeland. Haiti is controlled by brutal gangs.
"If someone comes back from the rich USA, they will immediately be robbed or kidnapped," says Ricot Dupuy, who runs the Radio Soleil station in a small shop in "Little Haiti." "The repeal of TPS is the next earthquake for our community. 15 years ago, 250,000 people died. Today we are witnessing a slow death."
If possible, don't leave the house
For fear of the ICE and Border Patrol patrols, many people only leave their house when it is unavoidable. With their jobs, many also lost their health insurance. They no longer receive state benefits anyway. On the street you only meet Haitians who have been living in the USA for decades or who were born here and therefore have citizenship. “Donald Trump can’t do anything to me,” says Joseph Bonaventure defiantly. "I was in the military for 20 years. He won't dare touch me." He sits at a table on the sidewalk with other older men and plays dominoes.
For others, not even a US passport gives them a sense of security. "Just Google how many US citizens - people who were born here - were arrested or even deported," says Camilla, who works at an information stand to promote cohesion in the district. The young woman does not want to give her last name. The latest reliable number of arrests of US citizens is 506. But each individual case reinforces the feeling that no one is safe anymore.
Ankle shackles for Haitians in Ohio
The Haitians in Brooklyn are doing even better than their compatriots in states like Ohio or Florida. New York has declared itself a “Sanctuary City”. Mayor Zohran Mamdani cannot prevent the federal agency ICE from operating in the city. But the New York Police Department and all city agencies are prohibited from cooperating with ICE. Mamdani also publicly stands up for his beleaguered migrant communities.
That's why measures by the masked attack teams are currently focused primarily on the state of Ohio. The city of Springfield had already come into focus during the 2024 election campaign when Trump repeatedly claimed that Haitians there were eating their neighbors' pets. After the end of TPS, the government wanted to make an example of the city. But the necessary logistics for such a mass deportation are still lacking.
Instead, all affected Haitians were forced to have electronic ankle bracelets fitted to local authorities. At the end of August, 20-year-old Pierre Damas Bel took his own life in Springfield. Photos of him show the highly gifted student and football player at his high school's graduation ceremony. But shortly before starting college, he became an “illegal alien,” and the ankle bracelet became a symbol of exclusion and stigmatization.
The feeling of suddenly having no rights
In "Little Haiti" everyone seems to know the story of Pierre Damas Bel. Even if the New York mayor would never allow measures like those in Ohio, the example is representative of the omnipresent feeling of having become completely without rights from one moment to the next.
Especially since Mayor Mamdani can often only demonstrate his own helplessness - as was the case at the beginning of October: in the northern Bronx district, masked ICE agents injured a father from the Dominican Republic with seven shots in his car in broad daylight. His five-year-old son was sitting in the back seat.
At a nightly press conference, the mayor found drastic words for ICE's actions. But not even direct intervention with Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin could do anything for the man who was shot. On the contrary: After his release from the hospital, he was taken into custody pending deportation and the government used the detainee's criminal record as evidence that cities like New York would protect the "worst of the worst among criminal aliens."
Support each other with solidarity
Anyone looking for advice and consolation can find it in the Catholic Church of St. Jerome. By summer, the rows at Sunday mass were often full. But since many community members have lost their refugee status, many places here remain empty. Families in particular are no longer coming. There is too much concern that heavily armed, masked men will jump out of their cars on the way to church and kidnap the parents in front of the children.
You don't have to understand Creole to understand what role all of this plays in Pastor Hilarie Belizaire's service. The word ICE rings out again and again in his sermon. “The most important thing is not to let fear overwhelm you,” says the priest after mass in the sacristy. So during the service there is a lot of singing, clapping and, at the end, laughter and dancing.
But Pastor Belizaire has long since become a tireless advocate for his neighborhood and has developed his community into a center for advice and support. Volunteers distribute food, organize routes for children to school and provide medical help. Lawyers give free legal help. "Some are actually considering going back to Haiti voluntarily," he says. "But there is no longer a home for them there. They fled the violence in the country 15 years ago, lost everything, and today the situation in Haiti is even worse." Pastor Beliziaire speaks of the double trauma that his community is currently experiencing.
Scare people to the point of voluntary departure
Ricot Dupuy, the radio presenter, also repeatedly talks about the psychological consequences of the deportation policy. “A lot of people need therapeutic support now,” he says. All joy of life has disappeared from the district.
Nobody can predict what will happen if thousands have to hide in their homes for months or years. "At some point the emergency rooms will be overcrowded with mentally ill people," he says. All of this is deliberate cruelty by the government and ICE. They wanted to instill so much fear that at some point you would agree to your own deportation.
Pastor Belizaire also knows that this is a way for Trump to score points with his supporters. Nevertheless, he trusts that the conscience of the majority will be stirred. The clergyman doesn't want to talk about party politics. But you can guess what worries and hopes are already associated with the upcoming congressional elections in November for his community.
