July 22 (UPI) — The Trump administration has said it will deport Haitian nationals with permanent resident status in the United States who are accused of supporting or collaborating with gangs the White House has labeled foreign terrorist organizations.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio made the announcement in a statement Monday, saying the actions of these Haitian individuals and their presence in the United States have “potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences.”
Neither the identities of the Haitian nationals to be deported nor the number to be expelled from the country were made public, though U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Monday announced the arrest of Haitian national Pierre Reginald Boulos. The Miami Herald reported that Boulos, 69, is an American-born entrepreneur, physician and influential political powerbroker in Haiti.
ICE said Boulos was arrested Thursday for violating the Immigration and Nationality Act for contributing to the destabilization of Haiti.
“Specifically, officials determined that he engaged in a campaign of violence and gang support that contributed to Haiti’s destabilization,” ICE said in the statement.
“Additionally, in his application to become a lawful permanent resident, he failed to disclose his involvement in the formation of a political party in Haiti, Mouvement pour la Transformation et la Valorisation d’Haiti, and that he was referred for prosecution by the Haitian government’s unit for the Fight Against Corruption for misusing loans, supporting an additional ground of removability based on this fraud.”
Rubio’s statement, which was made public following the announcement of Boulos’ arrest, says they have determined some Haitians with permanent resident status have supported or worked with Haitian gang leaders connected to Viv Ansanm, an organization that the State Department declared a Foreign Terrorist Organization in May, calling it “a primary source of instability and violence in Haiti.”
“The United States will not allow individuals to enjoy the benefits of legal status in our country while they are facilitating the actions of violent organizations or supporting criminal terrorist organizations,” Rubio said Monday.
The announcement comes as the Trump administration seeks to conduct mass deportations. As part of its efforts to fulfill the Trump administration’s goal, the State Department has used the Immigration and Nationality Act to impose visa restrictions on foreign nationals and deport others.