Haitian nonprofits open shelter for deportees in Cap-Haïtien
The center provides food, beds, and hygiene items for Haitians returning from the U.S. after a Supreme Court ruling ended their protected status.
By Yasmin Nasser ·
A new welcome center for deported Haitian immigrants opened in Cap-Haïtien on Wednesday. The three-story building, named Centre D’Accueil-Bedrock, offers temporary refuge, meals, and hygiene supplies to people arriving with little or nothing. Dr. Geralde Gabeau of the Immigrant Family Services Institute in Mattapan led the project with local Haitian partners. She stated that the organization could not ignore the suffering of those sent back to the country.
The facility opens after the Supreme Court ruled in June that the Trump administration could revoke temporary protected status for at least 330,000 Haitians nationwide. The status officially expired on July 27. This change stripped at least 19,000 people in Massachusetts of their legal standing. Those individuals now face the risk of detention and deportation. Last year, additional people lost parole status and became effectively undocumented.
Removal flights to Haiti have accelerated. According to the Human Rights Watch’s ICE Flight Monitor, flights increased from one per month to one per week starting August 20. Washington is currently seeking to expand deportations to the capital, Port-au-Prince. The center opened one day ahead of the most recent deportation flight. Workers initially distributed emergency packages containing toothbrushes and towels to more than 100 individuals at the local police station.
This week, the center will host its first group of residents. It is working with Haiti’s Office National de la Migration to transport them to the building. Currently, the Haitian government funds one night at a local hotel for some deportees, but most must leave by 11 a.m. the next morning. The center aims to provide a space where people can stay for a few days while they reconnect with family or friends. Many arrive without cellphones, making communication difficult.
Dr. Guerda Nicolas, a clinical psychologist at the University of Miami, visited the site with Gabeau last week. She met several individuals from the previous flight, including a blind elderly man and a young man who had not been in Haiti since age two. Another man had a phone number written down but no device to make a call. Nicolas noted that many people require follow-up care after their brief hotel stay.
The center can host 56 individuals per night. Staff are working to secure bunkbeds to increase capacity. A coalition of local and international partners, including Ayiti Home Link and the Fondation Alfred Beliard, supports the effort. Gabeau said the project has cost at least $100,000. The organization plans to add more staff as it operates.
The State Department continues to list Haiti as a Level 4 travel destination, advising Americans not to travel there. Caseworkers at the center also help residents adjust to local conditions, such as identifying unsafe areas in the capital controlled by gangs.
