Trump admin set to deport man to Haiti who has never been there in entire life

The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is all set to deport a 40-year-old man to Haiti despite the fact that he has never been to the Central American country in his entire life. Paul Pierrilus, whose parents are from Haiti but now US citizens, was detained on January 11 after he was called to an immigration office for a routine visit. Pierrilus was told that the immigration office has documents to prove he is a Haitian citizen. 

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According to The Guardian, Pierrilus' sister Neomie says that her brother has never been to Haiti, and nor does he has any connections there. Neomie, who is an American citizen, provided her brother's birth certificate that shows he was born in the French Caribbean territory of Saint Martin. Neomie said their parents never applied for her brother's citizenship in Saint Martin. After migrating to the US, Pierrilus's parents and sister were granted American citizenship, but he remained stateless. 

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Haiti not safe for Pierrilus

Neomie also provided copies of emails from former Haitian ambassador Herve Denis, which confirms that her brother is not a Haitian citizen. Guerline Jozef, head of the community group Haitian Bridge Alliance, has slammed the Trump administration's decision to deport Pierrilus to Haiti because of the man's zero connection with the culture, language, people and also because of the ongoing political crisis in the country, which puts his life in danger. Jozef further added that it not legal to send Pierrilus to Haiti because he was neither born there, not is he a citizen of the country.

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However, the Trump administration is expected to go ahead with the scheduled deportation of Pierrilus and other people to Haiti. ICE has faced a lot of backlash ever since its inception in 2003, during Bush's rule. The agency had toned down its deportation efforts during the Obama-Biden administration, but it picked up again after Trump took over. There are growing calls from rights advocacy groups and members of the public to shut down ICE. 

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