Spring Valley Haitian community, Rockland County officials, speak out for earthquake refugees

SPRING VALLEY - Members of the Haitian community are concerned for their friends and family after Washington announced Monday that refugees who came to the United States following the 2010 earthquake would have to go home in about 18 months.

"They already come here and Trump wants to keep them out," Jamar Salvadon said. "This country was built on freedom and he wants to deprive people of that. I find that really unfair and hypocritical."

Salvadon, 20, said America is known for taking refugees, so why is it now making them leave?

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There are over 190,000 people with Haitian ancestry in New York, according to state Sen. David Carlucci's office, and 23 percent of Spring Valley consists of a vibrant Haitian community, the second-largest percentage of Haitians in the nation.

Carlucci and prominent members of the Haitian community organized a rally Tuesday afternoon in New City to call on the president and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to reconsider their decision.

President Donald Trump announced Monday that his administration would end immigration protection in July 2019 for about 59,000 Haitians living in the United States.

The Obama administration first granted "temporary protected status," or TPS, to Haitians after the nation was ravaged by a magnitude 7.0 earthquake in 2010 that killed more than 200,000 people and displaced hundreds of thousands. The protections have allowed Haitians to legally remain in the United States.

“I am extremely disappointed that the Trump Administration has decided to discontinue the TPS," state Assemblywoman Ellen Jaffee said in a statement. "This decision is unconscionable and goes against one of the most basic American values: offering protection and shelter to our neighbors."

'Haiti is not ready'

"It will affect the community," Wilbert Marc said. "It's not only Haitians that are affected by this."

Marc, 56, was visiting Konbit Neg Lakay, a Haitian community center in Spring Valley, on Tuesday morning to partake of its translation services.

He's been in Rockland County for 31 years as a restaurant manager and said that though Haiti was beautiful when he visited a couple of weeks back, it was in no shape to take back the thousands of refugees who left after the 2010 earthquake.

"It's not ready to take (them) back," he said. "It's creating many problems for the country."

Jean Dormelas, 55, has also visited his country several times since moving to America in 2002, and states that Haiti's infastructure is just not strong enough to take back all the people who were displaced by natural disasters.

"Haiti is not ready to receive them," Dormelas said. "They've got a lot of issues."

Dormeles, who owns a small business that helps Haitians get their legal and other documents from their home country, said he was always willing to do what he can to help his family and friends, but he's not sure how much can really be done.

"It's a really, really bad idea for the Haitian people," he said. "I worry about them."

Dormeles said Haitians who have been living here under TPS have jobs, houses, kids and bills here. They've built lives.

I don't like it," Mary Jean Louis said about immigrants being sent back to Haiti. "It's going to be a big mess."

The 53-year-old home health employee has relatives living in America under TPS. She said they are filing for legal documents, but she doesn't know what will happen when people are sent back to Haiti.

"If I wasn't here, I'd be dead right now," she said. "Everyone thinks the same thing."

For Dormeles, it's important for people in his community to work hard getting people in positions of power so their voices can be heard.

Marc said he's not sure what future steps the Haitian community could do beyond having rallies and county authorities speak on their behalf.

Rally for change

At Tuesday's rally in New City, Carlucci vowed to fight on behalf of Haitian residents.

"It's something that we can't tolerate," he said. "We're going to stand up and do everything we can over the next 18 months to fight this decision and make sure that we are not tearing apart families, tearing apart communities, that we're making sure that Haitians feel welcome and safe here in the community that they've helped build."

Berthilde Dufrene, the founder and past president of the Haitian American Nurses Association of Rockland County, said she was grateful that the president has addressed the issue, but 18 months was not enough time for Haitian refugees to become permanent citizens if they choose to apply.

"We are very understanding of the fact that TPS is a temporary service," Dufrene said. "It is unrealistic to believe that people can establish permanent status here is the U.S. within 18 months or face deportation."

She said she hopes the president and his administration provide a quick and easy way to obtain permanent resident status for refugees who have made a career, gone to school and built their family and homes in America.

"America is the land of opportunity and what we are asking and advocating for, for these people, is the opportunity to become permanent residents," Dufrene said.

Carlucci sent a letter to the president expressing his "extreme displeasure and dismay" regarding the matter. He said in the letter that it would be cruel to send Haitians back under the current circumstances and reminded the president of America's immigrant roots.

Carlucci stressed that his office is a resource for Haitians. He said scammers could take this opportunity to prey on unsuspecting and scared refugees.

"We want to make sure people feel safe and protected," Carlucci said. "And that they get the right information."

Rockland County Legislators Toney L. Earl, Nancy Low-Hogan and Aney Paul also released statements opposing the end of TPS for Haitian refugees.

USA Today contributed to this report.