Haitian entrepreneur’s success in Nashville fuels support for Harris

While Rones Medard was living in Florida in 2022, he traveled for his employer around the U.S. On the way home from a long meeting in Louisville, Kentucky, he and his colleagues drove through Nashville sometime after midnight. He thought the city looked so beautiful, all lit up against the darkness. 

It was then he vowed to move to that city someday. He did so right after the pandemic, realizing he could work from anywhere. He headquartered his own staffing company, AR Hospitality, in the Music City. Within the first two weeks of the move, he signed seven contracts.

It is with the same clarity and determination that Medard believes Vice President Kamala Harris is the best candidate for Haitians who live in the U.S.

Medard’s Temporary Protected Status (TPS) allows him to remain in the U.S. Although not eligible to vote, he does not hesitate to engage his Haitian American friends and network of colleagues who can participate into his way of thinking about the candidates.  

“Democrats are better for Haitians living in the United States. They protect us as immigrants,” Medard explained. 

As for Haitians back home, he remembers how  Democrats Bill and Hillary Clinton and the Clinton Foundation failed Haiti after the 2010 earthquake. 

“They destroyed Haiti,” he said, echoing a sentiment that caused many Haitians to not vote for Mrs. Clinton when she ran against Donald Trump in 2016.

Medard still holds the Clintons’ actions against the Democratic Party, but he sees Harris as the candidate who can better support immigrants. 

“It’s going to be really bad for Haitian immigrants if Donald Trump is elected,” Medard said, noting Trump’s threats.

In a recent interview with NewsNation, the former president said he would revoke TPS for those Haitians living in Springfield, Ohio, and ensure their deportation to Haiti.

Trump, during his presidential term, which began in 2016, ended TPS for more than 300,000 immigrants, specifically targeting Haitians a year later. Thousands were forced to either leave the country by 2019 or face deportation. The Biden administration restored the TPS program and will allow an estimated 309,000 Haitians to remain in the U.S. through February 2026.

“I think it’s going to be really bad,” if Harris is not elected, Medard emphasized.

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