Latest news with #HaitianCommunity
CBS News
3 days ago
- Politics
- CBS News
Immigration activists hold emergency town hall as DHS prepares to end TPS for Haitians living in U.S.
A group of activists in North Miami gathered to discuss resources and strategies for South Florida's Haitian community, just days after the Department of Homeland Security announced that Temporary Protection Status (TPS) would end for the hundreds of thousands of Haitians in the United States. Members of the community are on edge after the decision was made. Passionate testimony of Haitian leaders in South Florida echoed through The Katz restaurant and bar in North Miami on Sunday evening. The meeting discussed the Trump administration's decision to terminate TPS for about 500,000 Haitians in the U.S., effective in September. "I don't think 10 weeks is necessarily a sufficient amount of time for someone to disconnect themselves if they've been in this country for 15 years," said Sandra Cherfrere, an immigration attorney and advocate. South Florida Haitians expressed how they felt when they heard the news. "I was in tears because I felt so betrayed that they were telling the American people that Haiti is 'okay' when as an American citizen who is of Haitian descent, I know that is not safe," said Naomi Esther Blemur, executive director, balancing life and advocate. "That right now in Port-au-Prince, there are no flights, and it's been months since there have been no flights in Port-au-Prince." According to the United Nations Human Rights Office, about 2,700 Haitians have been murdered within the first six months of 2025. About 300,000 Haitians live in the Miami area. "Take your child from all the comforts in America and go back and live in Haiti with me, where we may or may not have a place that has inside plumbing, for example," Cherfrere said. Sunday's public meeting was to give legal advice and options to Haitians living in the Miami area, but many advocates fear those on TPS may have less time than they think. "The administration may not wait until Sept. 2 to start picking up people whose TPS is going to expire because, as of right now, I know for a fact that there are individuals [who] have provided TPS applications who are in detention, right? So, I know those families are probably scrambling, trying to get things together," Cherfrere said. "I know people who are already trying to make arrangements to go to Canada or somewhere else." The Trump administration has also ended protections for immigrants from countries such as Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua.
The Guardian
6 days ago
- Health
- The Guardian
Too scared to go to hospital: the pregnant women in Dominican Republic dying because of deportation fears
About an hour after giving birth on the floor of her one-room shack in the Dominican Republic, Lourdia Jean Pierre, 32, started gasping for breath. Her husband, Ronald Jean, knew something was seriously wrong, and shouted for help from the neighbours. 'She gave birth without any problems and was fine for a while,' he says. 'But then she felt sick and people told me to call the emergency services. When they arrived, she was already dead.' Jean will never know what might have happened on 9 May had his wife given birth in hospital, surrounded by medical staff and equipment, instead of at home. But he knows that was never an option. The couple from Haiti were living without the correct immigration papers in the Dominican Republic, which shares the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean with Haiti. In April, as Jean Pierre was approaching her due date, the Dominican government announced a crackdown on undocumented migrants. Almost immediately, images of pregnant women and new mothers who had been rounded up by immigration agents in hospitals and deported were all over the media. 'It's a form of persecution,' says Jean. 'Haitian people have been hiding, afraid to go out for fear of being deported. It was not my decision [that Lourdia give birth at home]. I feel like I didn't have a choice. We were scared.' Human rights groups have called the policy cruel, racist and misogynist. The UN has raised concern over the increase in deportations by the Dominican Republic of vulnerable Haitians – particularly pregnant women, new mothers and children. According to a recent statement released by the UN, 900 pregnant women or new mothers were deported in one month. The worsening situation in Haiti has severely damaged health services. Cholera outbreaks are spreading. Gender-based violence is increasing and sexual violence against children has risen tenfold, according to the UN. At least 5,600 people were killed in gang violence last year, it says. The kidnap and murder of workers has put about two-thirds of medical facilities out of use. When the emergency services arrived after Jean Pierre had given birth and died, they took the newborn baby to the hospital and Jean went with them. While his child was being seen to, he was approached by officers who asked for his papers. He explained his work permit had expired, and they arrested him. 'I was crying a lot. My heart was breaking. The baby was there, with nobody else to look after him, I told them,' he says. Sign up to Global Dispatch Get a different world view with a roundup of the best news, features and pictures, curated by our global development team after newsletter promotion Other people in the vicinity overheard and came to his defence, pleading with the immigration agents to leave him alone. 'In the end, they understood and let me go.' Jean returned home and hastily borrowed money to bury his wife the same day, as is custom. It was a rushed affair, as Jean was worried about the authorities finding out. 'I was scared. People say that when a lot of Haitians gather together, immigration come and take people. [The burial] was very quick because I didn't want that to happen.' News of Jean Pierre's death spread after people from his community released a video showing her body on the floor of her home in the municipality of Pedro Sánchez in the province of El Seibo. More than 400 people from organisations across the world signed a letter denouncing her death. 'The death of Lourdia Jean Pierre, as well as the persecution, detention and deportation of thousands of pregnant Haitian immigrant women, are actions that violate national and international laws and protocols, the most elemental human rights, and people's dignity,' it says. Jean and his wife were living in the Dominican Republic because of the situation in Haiti, where gang warfare has destroyed the country. He was first granted a work permit in 2018 for a job in agriculture, and used to go back and forth to Haiti to visit his wife. When the crisis in the country worsened in 2021, Jean Pierre came to the Dominican Republic to be with him. They left two children with relatives there, and then another son was born in the Dominican Republic. Jean's work permit expired in 2020 and he was unable to gain legal status to be in the country. He blames the government and gang members in Haiti for his wife's death. 'They make security very hard and make it so that people can't live in Haiti and are forced to come to the Dominican Republic,' he says. 'I respect the Dominican laws but life in Haiti is so hard, people don't have a choice.' After losing his wife, Jean is set on returning to his country, however. First, he needs to pay back the money he owes for her funeral. 'I am not protected in the Dominican Republic. [Life here] is very hard so I have no choice. I want to go back to Haiti,' he says. 'Sometimes I cry, then I pray. I am in a very difficult situation.'
Yahoo
16-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Springfield, Ohio residents rally on behalf of those who don't feel safe
Protestors at a June 14, 2025 No Kings rally in Springfield, Ohio. (Photo by Marty Schladen, Ohio Capital Journal.) SPRINGFIELD, OHIO — Roughly 500 gathered at Springfield City Hall Saturday to protest the administration of President Donald Trump. But even though Trump last year highlighted the city's 15,000 residents from Haiti, many have been been scared into the shadows, protestors said. 'I really believe that most people don't want what's happening right now,' said Jessica Shafer, a mental health therapist who works with vulnerable children in Springfield. 'I come to things like this because I think it's incumbent on people who can to come to these things and stand up and show people it's OK to make your voice heard.' The rally in Springfield was one of more than 1,000 across the country that drew more than a million 'No Kings' protestors against Trump on Saturday. No Kings protests around the nation denounce Trump's actions Trump put Springfield's Haitian community in the crosshairs last year when, during a presidential debate, he repeated the racist lie that the immigrants were stealing their neighbors' pets and eating them. Then a senator from Ohio, now-Vice President J.D. Vance repeated the lie about his own constituents — even though his staff knew the allegations were untrue. In the wake of the untruths, dozens of bomb threats were made to Springfield schools and other public buildings and its Haitian residents came in for even greater harassment. 'They're terrified. Rightfully so,' Shafer said of her Haitian neighbors. 'I can't tell them anything. I wish I had answers, but I don't. I don't know what's going to happen. I don't have any way to relieve their anxieties.' Trump is now revoking temporary protected status for a half-million immigrants, including those from Haiti. That condemns thousands of Haitians in Springfield to return to a place where anarchy and gang violence reign, said Carl Ruby, a pastor who has many of the immigrants in his congregation. 'They go back and forth between somehow thinking it's going to work out to being terrified,' he said. 'What people need to understand about them is what they've already been through in Haiti. So this does not scare them as much as it scares us.' He added, 'But they are good people and they're in danger. There are people at my church who are on lifesaving medications they can't get in Haiti. They'll die if they get deported. There is one person whose children are still in Haiti and the gangs beheaded a 12-year-old girl on the street that runs in front of their house. People don't understand what they're sending Haitians back to.' Shafer said that the things that Trump and his allies in Congress want to do would be devastating to everybody in Clark County, of which Springfield is the seat — not just the Haitians. About 770,000 Ohioans stand to lose health coverage under Medicaid if the U.S. House budget — Trump's 'One Big Beautiful Bill' — becomes law. Hundreds of thousands in the state are also likely to go hungry if cuts to the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program in the legislation become reality. 'I know what's going to happen if we cut Medicaid,' Shafer said. 'Forty four percent of Clark County is on Medicaid. I work with youth. Seventy seven percent of Springfield's school district rely on SNAP funds to provide free and reduced lunches. We have roughly 17,000 households that rely on SNAP benefits in our county. And they're talking about cutting all of that.' Sherry Schaaf, who lives in Clark County outside of Springfield, said she turned out because she thinks Trump is tearing at the foundations of democracy. For example, she said, Trump deployed the National Guard and the Marines to quell protests in Los Angeles even though the governor and the mayor didn't want them. 'It's treasonous,' Schaaf said. 'It's all for political theater.' She said she felt a duty to stand publicly against such conduct. 'It is time for us to stand up against the administration and the illegal things that they are doing,' Schaaf said. 'If we don't stand up we're going to end up like Germany did.' SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Times
13-06-2025
- Lifestyle
- Times
I live in Miami. This is where you should go instead of South Beach
To many, a trip to Miami means South Beach, the flashy, celeb-speckled peninsula famous for its white sand beaches, nightlife and scantily clad, excessively smooth Beautiful People. Some may venture to the part of the city that's on the mainland, particularly the Design District, South Florida's public art-infused luxury zone, or Wynwood to explore the street art. But to me, a Miami native, the most exciting neighbourhood is Little River, which sits just north of those two and is named after one of the city's four rivers, which it straddles. In a predominantly Haitian community, it has become a hive of repurposed warehouses and strip malls, a bastion of non-commercial cool. Grit has everything to do with my zeal for this quadrant. You see, since 2021, Miami has become excessively manicured. This shiny new Miami developed courtesy of the Covid pandemic, when balmy climes and lax lockdown rules enticed tech, finance and real estate honchos to migrate south, escalating the demand for luxury. Miami Beach is now stippled with fancy shops and outposts of glitzy NYC restaurants such as Carbone, Blue Ribbon Sushi, Ha Salon and Estiatorio Milos. When it comes to hotels, in addition to the Setai, Faena, St Regis Bal Harbor, Four Seasons Surf Club and a new Andaz already open, properties from the luxury chains Aman, Cipriani, Rosewood, Bulgari and Auberge are in the works. The Design District, for a long time considered a posh paradise, is even more so now. Its palm tree-lined streets teem with the designer boutiques of Balenciaga, Dior and Fendi; its alleys, car parks and inner courtyards are accented with A-list art installations. Restaurants include Simon Kim's Cote, the only Korean steakhouse in the world to hold a Michelin star, and Mother Wolf, the chef Evan Funke's opulent paean to Roman flavours. • This boho backwater is now Miami's hottest neighbourhood And Wynwood? The graffiti murals are fun, and the calibre of restaurants — Hiyakawa, Pastis, Sparrow Italia and Ghee — is impressive. But the proliferation of high-rise residential buildings and touristy shops, including one that sells 'Wynwood Walls' merchandise, has corporatised the vibe. Which brings me back to Little River. Where Miami 2.0 is swanky, Little River's maze of single-storey warehouses turned creative enterprises burbles with edge. Caribbean holes-in-the-wall live alongside trendy breweries and coffee shops packed with headphoned hipsters. Art galleries bloom next to seedy mini-marts. Across from residential bungalows and a commercial boat-rigging service is the Cyclades-inspired studio of the artist Carlos Betancourt, whose work hangs in the Smithsonian's Portrait Gallery and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and his architect partner Alberto Latorre (he designed the space), who spend their summers in Greece. It has become a magnet for Miami's cognoscenti. The area is all anchored by St Mary's cathedral and school, where the lawn buzzes with rowdy children. 'We, along with many other art galleries, recreated our creative communities in Little River when Wynwood rents skyrocketed,' says Paloma Teppa, the artist behind Plant the Future, a biophilic design studio known for its preserved moss installations. 'We are all small, independent businesses. There's a real soul here.' • 12 of the best hotels in Miami If you like the artsy, cross-cultural grit of Dalston and Hackney in London, you'll feel at home in Little River, where high-end shops, botanicas and goat butchers inhabit the same block. If you do not have a car, you can Uber (Miami does not have an efficient public transportation system) to one destination and then walk from one spot to the next using Google Maps. My recommendation is to go in the late morning for a coffee, a wander and lunch, or later in the day for cocktails and dinner. Check independent shop opening times as they can vary. Here's my guide to Little River: Start at Imperial Moto, a motorcycle-themed coffee shop where 'hog' enthusiasts (Harley-Davidson fans) and locals gather for sustainably farmed, Miami-roasted coffee. The distressed leather seating inside is cosy, but I prefer bringing my nitro brew and empanada to the front patio, where I can watch the scene unfold to the clang of church bells (coffee from £3, empanadas from £4; Across the street is Casa de Barcelona, a warehouse turned showroom selling high-end sculptural furniture from the 1970s. Best friends Duda Teixeira and Cristina Mantilla of Éliou design costume jewellery inspired by seaside living using cowrie seashells, freshwater pearls and colourful beads. Their whimsical baubles shot to fame when Harry Styles wore their necklace in his Golden music video ( @casadebarcelona). At Carolina K, the Argentine designer Carolina Kleinman serves up wowza prints and home goods that channel faraway markets. Kleinman, a sustainable fashion pioneer, collaborates with artisans in Mexico, Peru, Bolivia and India to make contemporary pieces with ancestral craftsmanship. My favourites? The statement-making silk jumpsuits and swimwear upcycled from plastic containers ( As an avid second-hand shopper who hates clutter, I appreciate Mids Market, which offers 12,000 sq ft of reasonably priced clothing, arranged into easy-to-navigate categories such as music, TV and movies, college, sports and denim. There's more: clothing has been pre-washed, so no contending with noxious odours. A 'rework station' (sewing machine and fabric shears) lets you personalise your purchases ( Housed in a Standard Oil petrol station from the 1960s, Plant the Future is a fairytale of a plant emporium with decorative objects designed to generate a deeper connection to nature; think groovy zodiac moss constellations for the wall and floating gardens dripping with plumes of Spanish moss. Outside, a lushly landscaped garden (overlooking the actual Little River) is a perfect perch for repose ( From the midcentury palm-tree mirrored screens to the martini-filled elephant ice buckets and the massive, twinkle light-adorned banyan tree, Sunny's is so of the moment. It's a place you want to dress up for, even though the decidedly non-fancypants co-owner Will Thompson, a former bartender, will insist it's not exclusive. 'Sunny's is a democratic dinner party. People can drink a Miller Light at the bar or spend the big bucks on a wagyu strip.' Atmosphere aside, that's the beauty of this restaurant; you'll rub shoulders with artists, the local stone crab fisherman, billionaires and tech bros. The menu's centrepiece is steaks cooked over fire, and there's an excellent raw bar — oysters, Hokkaido scallops topped with lime zest and torched aguachile (seafood in lime juice) and pasta, specifically corn agnolotti with blue crab and saffron (mains from £20; Sushi is omnipresent in Miami, but omakase? Not so much. Alvaro Perez Miranda, who spent 15 years in Japan, changed that in 2023 when he opened Ogawa (which means Little River in Japanese), a bamboo-ceilinged, burgundy-walled, Michelin-starred bolt hole with just 11 seats. The 19 or so courses (really, each is a bite) feature fish flown in from Tokyo — spiny king crab and fatty sandfish — along with cooked dishes such as a dashi-doused vegetable dumpling and marbled A5 wagyu (tasting menu £258pp; • Florida, US travel guide La Natural, with its zen whitewashed wall and tropical funk playlist, is my go-to for pizza. The 40-seat space excels at sourdough-started, perfectly charred, simply topped Neopolitan-style pizza pies and a standout list of minimal-intervention wines (mains from £14; For cheap eats, I like the Citadel, a chic 14-vendor food hall for churros, burgers, burritos or ramen. The rooftop bar is popular with the cool kids. The sister/brother duo behind Macchialina, a South Beach hotspot, have expand its rustic Italian footprint when it opens Bar Bucce, an open-all-day eatery for espresso and pastries, pizza (New York crust with Neapolitan toppings), antipasti and hard-to-find Italian wines. 'We have been eyeing this neighbourhood for almost a decade,' says the co-owner Jacqueline Pirolo. 'Our 150-seat patio will expand café culture in Little River' (mains from £23; Art is the backbone of Little River's dynamism. At Dot Fiftyone, contemporary work ranges from large-scale charcoal drawings by the emerging Colombian artist Gonzalo Fuenmayor to Anastasia Samoylova, whose environmental themed photography has been exhibited at the V&A, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Kunst Haus in Vienna. What began with street-art 'urban takeovers' has evolved into Primary, when Books Bischof, Cristina Gonzalez and Typoe Gran opened their sleek, Terence Riley-designed gallery devoted to boundary-pushing exhibitions. Two more galleries of note are Homework and Nina Johnson. Oolite Arts, a 40-year-old visual arts nonprofit, is slated to open a massive campus in 2026. The complex of five converted warehouses designed by the Spanish architecture firm Barozzi Veiga will be devoted to artist residencies, exhibition galleries, a theatre, an interior garden and programmes for the public. This article contains affiliate links that can earn us revenue Since 2004, the Setai has been South Beach's swankiest hotel. A stay here means you'll be mingling with locals before you even leave as the restaurants — the beachfront Ocean Grill and the alfresco Asian-style courtyard Jaya — are staple dining spots for Miamians. There are several pools surrounded by tall palms, and modern Room-only doubles from £602 ( This newly opened oceanfront property in Mid-Beach, formerly the art deco gem the Confidante, features an open-air lobby, rooftop pool and beachfront restaurant by the renowned chef José André Room-only doubles from £258 ( A few walkable blocks from the ocean, a former artists' colony spread across eight Spanish-Mediterranean revival buildings offers 145 rooms, five restaurants and a rooftop pool. The hotel runs alongside lively Espanola Way in the heart of South Room-only doubles from £120 ( Have you visited Little River? Let us know in the comments
Globe and Mail
09-06-2025
- Sport
- Globe and Mail
Dort, Mathurin families unite for Montreal North during Thunder-Pacers NBA Finals
Luguentz Dort and Bennedict Mathurin are going head-to-head on the court – but off it, their families are on the same team. While Dort's Oklahoma City Thunder battled Mathurin's Indiana Pacers in Game 2 of the NBA Finals on Sunday night, the players' mothers and sisters watched side by side in Montreal, coming together to celebrate two homegrown talents with deep ties. 'This is about unity,' said Berline Dort, Luguentz's sister. 'It's not about rivalry.' The Mathurin Family Foundation and the Maizon Dort Foundation collaborated for a charity watch party – one of many across the city – at Verdun Auditorium. Basketball moms Erline Mortel (Dort) and Elvie Jeune (Mathurin) sat together and posed for pictures in the arena's viewing area, not long after Dort swiped the ball from Mathurin's hands six minutes into Game 2. 'They came here for a better opportunity. They came here to offer their children a better life,' said Jennifer Mathurin, Bennedict's sister. 'Our families are sitting here, cheering family members in the NBA … it means the world. 'At the end of the day, we're all champions.' Born to Haitian immigrants, Dort and Mathurin grew up blocks away from each other in the rough-and-tumble Montreal North borough, home to one of Canada's largest Haitian populations. Having not one but two players from their neighbourhood on the sport's biggest stage is an inspiration for future hoopers in the community, Jennifer Mathurin said. 'A lot of Haitians play basketball because it's very inexpensive,' she said. 'It gives hope to the next generation. It inspires them to think that, 'Me too, I can get to the highest level.'' A former college baller for NC State, Jennifer Mathurin is now also Bennedict's manager. She flew to Montreal from Oklahoma City after Game 1 just to organize the community event, citing the Haitian motto 'union fait la force,' which translates to 'unity makes strength.' 'It was important for us to show up together, both families, both foundations,' she said. 'It was a no-brainer.' Jennifer Mathurin will be back on a plane Tuesday morning ahead of Wednesday's Game 3 in Indianapolis with the best-of-seven series tied 1-1. Dort and Mathurin – separated by three years – played youth basketball together on the Parc Ex Knights and each honed their craft in the Brookwood Elite AAU basketball program. As Mathurin followed Dort's footsteps through college to the NBA, they only became closer. 'They're very tight, they're proud of each other,' Berline Dort said. 'They just want to uplift each other, and it's like a brotherhood.' The way they impact the game, however, is different. Dort is known for his smothering on-ball defence and locking opponents up in his so-called 'Dorture Chamber.' The 26-year-old swingman – built like a brick wall at six feet four, 220 pounds – went from undrafted to becoming a key starter for the Thunder. Meanwhile, Mathurin was a top prospect in the 2022 NBA draft thanks to his scoring touch and explosive athleticism. When the Pacers selected the six-foot-five, 210-pound guard sixth overall – the highest-ever pick for a Montrealer — Dort was there to support him, despite his own draft nightmare of being passed over in 2019. 'Says a lot about the kind of character Lu is and the relationship he has with Benn,' said Joey McKitterick, who coached both at Brookwood Elite. 'He must have had PTSD from that night, so to go up there and relive it, it says a lot about his selflessness.' When Dort and Mathurin were young teenagers, McKitterick didn't imagine they'd one day meet in the NBA Finals. Only three players who call Montreal home have previously won an NBA title. Bill Wennington won three championships with the Chicago Bulls from 1996 to 1998, Joel Anthony claimed two rings with the Miami Heat in 2012 and 2013, and Chris Boucher captured the Larry O'Brien Trophy with the Toronto Raptors in 2019. Now, Montreal is guaranteed a fourth. 'It's amazing,' said Anthony, the co-owner and general manager of the Canadian Elite Basketball League's Montreal Alliance. 'They've been making everyone proud in the city. 'This is the matchup probably everyone in the city would have wanted.' Dort and Mathurin aren't the only Canadians in the NBA Finals. Hamilton's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander – this year's MVP – leads OKC, while Andrew Nembhard of Aurora, Ont., features for Indiana. 'Shows tremendous growth in our game, not just that they're on the teams that are in the Finals, but also the roles that they're playing,' said Rowan Barrett, the general manager for Canada's men's basketball team. In Depth: The making of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the NBA's most valuable player Barrett highlighted Dort's defensive task guarding Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton, while Mathurin – who's still developing – could help decide games with his scoring off the bench. The basketball talent in Montreal, Barrett said, goes back decades to 1988 Olympians Dwight Walton and Wayne Yearwood, among others. The difference now is that more players are finding a pathway to the NBA. 'There was always talent there. Always,' he said. 'This isn't new, but I do think that more and more of them have gotten into the stream and found the ways to grow their games and be able to make the cultural shift, maybe eventually leaving Montreal, going into the NCAA.' Anthony believes the talent level across the city is reaching new heights – and Dort and Mathurin are just two examples. 'Definitely seen a big boom,' he said. 'Everyone notices when those players are coming in at the highest levels in the NBA, but at lower levels, also at the collegiate level. 'A huge increase in the amount of talent.'
