Brad Mertens Joseph, a six-year-old boy from northeastern Haiti, was born with a congenital heart defect. He struggles with mobility and still requires diapers.
His parents, accustomed to making a perilous 11-hour overnight bus journey to consult cardiologists in Haiti’s violent capital, had finally secured a solution for his heart condition caused by a hole in his heart.
The treatment involved open-heart surgery scheduled in Akron, Ohio, facilitated by a nonprofit organization.
However, these plans were abruptly halted when the U.S. government issued a travel ban prohibiting entry to people from ten countries, including Haiti, who lack valid travel visas.
“When I heard the news, I was very upset and asked myself, ‘What are we going to do?’” said Brad’s father, Dieudonné Joseph. “I started feeling panic, and I still do.”
The Joseph family, along with many others in Haiti, now find themselves caught in the sweeping travel restrictions. From young professionals and medical residents to longtime visitors with expired visas, Haitians face a sudden curtailment of their opportunities.
Due to Haiti’s proximity to Florida, its complex history with the United States, and ongoing political and social turmoil, the country maintains strong social, familial, and economic connections with its northern neighbor. Many Haitians have relatives in South Florida or New York, and numerous businesses operate across both nations.
The travel ban is the latest in a series of stringent U.S. measures targeting Haiti, a nation overwhelmed by gang violence and reliant on international aid and remittances from migrants living in the United States.
“It feels like not only Haiti has been hit hard, but the entire world, especially smaller countries that once saw the U.S. as a close ally,” said Dieudonné Joseph, 42, who works in banking.
Without the surgery, Brad’s life expectancy is unlikely to exceed 30 years, according to John Clark, a pediatric cardiologist at Akron Children’s Hospital who was to perform the procedure this summer.
More than 300 Haitians, mostly children, are currently on waiting lists for heart surgeries in the United States but are now unable to travel, explained Owen Robinson, CEO of International Cardiac Alliance, the nonprofit that arranged Brad’s treatment.
Identifying enough medical professionals and facilities in alternative countries to offset this sudden loss presents an extraordinary challenge.
“If we could do it elsewhere, we would,” Robinson said.
Similarly, Haitian Hearts, an Illinois-based organization, had planned to facilitate travel for 46-year-old Suze Lapierre, who requires a heart valve replacement. She fled her home in Port-au-Prince due to gang violence and, with most hospitals in the capital closed, has no other treatment options.
The U.S. government justified the travel restrictions by citing concerns that at least 25% of visitors from Haiti overstayed their visas.
“I can’t be mad at the U.S. president; he’s building his country and has the right to do so as he sees fit,” Joseph said. “I believe we have to fix our own country.”
Haiti remains engulfed in a profound political, humanitarian, and security crisis. Its last elected president was assassinated nearly four years ago, creating a power vacuum that allowed gangs, often supported by the political and economic elite, to flourish.
Last year, armed groups united in a surge of violence that displaced over a million people and resulted in more than 5,000 deaths.
Recently, the U.S. government designated these gangs as terrorist organizations, a move that contributed to Haiti’s inclusion on the travel ban list.
The Trump administration also ended the Temporary Protected Status program shielding more than 500,000 Haitians from deportation and revoked a program that had permitted over 200,000 Haitians to relocate to the United States.
While the travel ban allows for case-by-case exemptions in instances of "national interest," officials declined to clarify whether this could apply to children with medical conditions.
In many ways, Haiti was already under an effective travel ban: Port-au-Prince’s main international airport has been closed since November after gangs fired upon U.S. aircraft.
With the primary airport shut, limited U.S. embassy staffing, and dangerous roads to alternative airports, travelers must spend thousands of dollars to first reach Cap-Haïtien by helicopter, then fly to Barbados, Jamaica, or other countries with functioning U.S. embassies to obtain or renew visas.
This expensive and arduous journey has resulted in many Haitians holding expired visas.
Pierre A. Noel, executive director of the Haiti Development Institute, a Boston-based nonprofit, said this situation forces families and business owners to make tough decisions.
Many Haitian professionals remaining in the country during the unrest had sent their children to the United States for safety, and now face the prospect of prolonged separation. With graduation season underway, parents are uncertain about their next steps.
Those working in Haiti who travel to the U.S. now grapple with decisions about whether to return home and when — and if they do, when they might reunite with their families.
Business owners reliant on unrestricted travel between the U.S. and Haiti are weighing whether to keep their operations afloat and retain employees.
Several Haitians expressed disappointment with the United States, citing, among other grievances, the well-documented flow of illegal firearms from Florida to Haitian gangs.
Nonetheless, many emphasized that the travel ban highlights the urgent need to strengthen Haiti’s interim government until new presidential elections can take place.
Cassandre V., a 49-year-old resident of Cap-Haïtien, whose visa expires in a year, prays her elderly parents in the U.S. remain healthy. She spoke on condition of anonymity as she lacks permission from her employer to speak to the press.
“We feel that the United States has let Haiti down,” she said. “What is happening? Are they letting us die? Each one of us?”
Wolf Pamphile, executive director of Haiti Policy House, a Washington-based research institute, noted that even Haitians with visas or U.S. residency are hesitant to travel to the United States.
“It’s a huge slap in the face,” Pamphile said. “This should be a turning point for the Haitian government. What will they do?”
The Haitian prime minister declined to comment, and the presidential council — a committee governing the country until elections — did not respond to requests for remarks.
In a statement released Thursday, Haiti’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it is working to find a “swift” resolution, particularly for businesspeople and families divided between Haiti and the United States.
“This decision comes at a time when the Haitian government is striving, with the help of international partners, to combat insecurity and strengthen border security,” the ministry said.
Humanitarian groups have warned that the travel ban will hinder their ability to train Haitian staff and government technocrats.
“If we don’t want to be an NGO in Haiti forever, we need to be able to strengthen our relationship with the public sector,” said Sasha Kramer, executive director of SOIL, an organization focused on improving sanitation in Haiti.
Zanmi Lasante, a partner of Partners in Health managing medical facilities in Haiti, said at least 40 of its Haitian employees will be unable to attend training sessions in the United States.
“We feel like we’re on our own,” said Wesler Lambert, executive director of Zanmi Lasante.
Lambert expressed openness to welcoming senior U.S. government officials to visit Haiti, to meet the inspiring people being excluded and witness firsthand the vital work at risk.
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