In early August, Temporary Protected Status—also known as TPS—was canceled for hundreds of thousands of immigrants by the Trump administration as part of the regime’s barbaric immigrant efforts. Since the 1990s, TPS has allowed individuals from countries that were impacted by things like civil war and environmental disasters (or any extreme condition where they could not safely return to their country and live) the right to legally live and, in many cases, work in the United States for a limited time.
The Trump administration has noted that TPS was never meant to be permanent and, as such, for many folks it is now time for individuals protected by TPS to return to their home countries. Mind you, in many cases, their home countries are still not safe places to return to and are, in fact, often places that the U.S. government itself has issued advisories against traveling to. There is also the pesky fact that many of these unsafe places are unsafe because the United States has probably played a role in their destabilization.
Well, despite those pesky facts, and because this administration doesn’t give a damn about facts or the wellbeing of humans who aren’t white and don’t fit with their agenda, TPS ended pretty much right away for approximately 350,000 Haitians who had been living, working, and building lives in the United States and were stripped of their protected status. The administration apparently wanted to immediately detain and deport people but the reality of the logistics instead has led to thousands of Haitians being summoned to check in with ICE, where they are being outfitted with ankle monitors so their whereabouts can be monitored at all times until the government decides what to do with these folks.
People who came to this country to seek safety and in many cases have lived and worked in their communities for years (or decades) with no criminal backgrounds are being treated like criminals. All because of the whims of the white nationalist ideology that is running this country. In states like Ohio where many Haitians have settled and actually helped rejuvenate small cities and towns and brought in much-needed labor, people are being reduced to living in limbo and being treated as if they are less than human.
Several weeks ago, a video out of Ohio went viral of an older Haitian man, Mansanto Maler, who after being fitted with an ankle monitor collapsed in grief to the ground. The pure pain and sorrow of such mistreatment and dehumanization was on full display in a moment of raw humanity.
It is a moment that stirred something deep in my spirit on an epigenetic level. As a member of the larger African diaspora whose own people were brought here against their will and enslaved then later forced to endure life under Jim Crow, that gentleman’s pain touched my soul and no doubt countless others. We may not have been shackled and whipped as our ancestors were, but our souls know that pain—it is never fully gone. Our spirits recognize humiliation and dehumanization solely based on the color of one’s skin.
But just when it seemed that the nonstop humanization couldn’t get any worse, I woke to the news of a young Haitian man, Pierre Damas Bel, a 20-year-old college student and resident of Springfield, Ohio, who walked into traffic on Interstate 70 and was killed by a tractor trailer. Early reports are that he chose to end his life after losing his temporary protected status and being outfitted with an ankle monitor. Pierre arrived in the United States in 2024, a few years after his parents fled Haiti and by all accounts, he was a young man with a bright future and attending Wright State University. He graduated from high school with honors and was a member of the Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps. He played soccer and he wanted to study medicine. But that monitor that was placed on his ankle changed everything. Cruel comments were made, and the weight of the monitor interfered with his ability to play soccer. His future was in limbo and subject to the whims of cruel old white men and their mindless foot soldiers.
In late July, he posted on his Instagram page: I came to this country to pursue my education. I didn’t come here to commit a crime or hurt anyone. Yet now I’m walking through the streets of the United States with a GPS monitor on my leg, carrying a feeling of shame and humiliation that I never imagined I would experience.
As sad as this story is, it shouldn’t be a surprise that facing such dire circumstances, Pierre chose to end his life. A country that once was famously known for welcoming immigrants in need and sheltering refugees has decided to change things up midstream and for no good reason other than the reclamation of the most virulent strains of white supremacy known to the planet. Throwing lives into chaos and discarding people as if they were trash. How much sorrow and pain can a body hold? How much can a young person hold?
Every day, we are flooded with stories of the harm this administration is doing and sometimes it feels like it is too much. After all, how can we be expected to go about our daily rounds, consuming such trauma and pain, especially when it feels like there is nothing we can do? Yet when we choose to isolate ourselves from the stories of Pierre and others whose lives are being ripped apart and keep our heads down, we are in fact emboldening these evil people to keep on keeping on with their evil. When we unsubscribe from the news and truth tellers, our self-care becomes a form of complicity despite what we believe to be true. Whatever comfort our chosen ignorance brings is paid for by the blood and misery of those under attack at this moment.
Pierre should be playing soccer and settling into college life. Monsanto Maler, whose video went viral, should be living his life without fear that he will be called to a check-in and whisked off to be deported to unsafe conditions we said we’d protect him from until things got stable (which they haven’t). The countless others who are being held in detention centers should be free and going about their daily rounds. Kids who are not in school for fear of ICE showing up should be in school meeting new friends and acclimating to their new teachers. Hundreds of thousands of people who have made the United States their chosen home should be going about their lives, just as most of us choose to at this moment.
If their stories are the kind of content that feels hopeless to consume, we need to ask ourselves how much compassion we have. The very least we can do is consume it and bear witness. If we don’t think we can create meaningful resistance in this moment, the least we can do is not turn away and pretend it isn’t happening. Especially when we know the powers-that-be are hoping it will be too much and that we won’t do anything that disrupts our own lives. Choosing to not look away matters.
We have to allow our hearts to break in this moment. Let our heartbreak be the fuel of resistance.
PS: As an independent writer, as much as l love your comments and sharing, your financial support is what keeps my writing viable. Become a Substack subscriber today, or if you are interested in my more deeper and personal writing with an anti racism lens, become a Patreon patron. Or if you just want to show your gratitude for this piece, consider Buying Me a Coffee.
Image by M ZHA, obtained via Unsplash
You May Also Like:
A white millennial man said some racist and sexist stuff…and…???
The U.S. Senate race in Maine: LaFlamme burns with hope
The US Senate race in Maine: Mills drops out, and a new future unfolds with Costello and more
When ICE kills in Maine: No one is safe in this version of America
The overwhelm of it all and the spike of “frozen water people” in Maine