New York Haitian leaders warn immigration crackdown threatens workers, families and key industries

Haitian community leaders, elected officials and business executives gathered in Brooklyn on July 30 for a discussion on how federal immigration policies affecting Haitians could have consequences extending beyond individual immigrants, disrupting families, businesses and industries that depend on their labor.

The discussion focused in part on the uncertainty surrounding Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and the effects that the loss of immigration protections could have on Haitian workers and their families. Speakers described Haitians working across health care, education, hospitality, construction and small businesses while also raising concerns about the fear immigration enforcement has created in Haitian neighborhoods.

The discussion took place during “Leading Labor in a Changing Immigration Landscape,” a leadership breakfast organized by The Haitian Times in partnership with the Federation of Haitian Chambers of Commerce and the CUNY Haitian Studies Institute. The event, held at Brooklyn College – a staple in the Haitian community –  with support from the Hotel Association of New York City, brought together leaders from government, business, academia and immigrant advocacy.

The Haitian Times convened the forum to examine how federal immigration policy is affecting the labor market and to connect the experiences of Haitian immigrants with broader questions about workforce stability, employers and New York City’s economy.

“The future of New York’s workforce cannot be discussed without acknowledging the contributions of immigrant communities,” Vania André, publisher and editor-in-chief of The Haitian Times, said. “Our goal was to create a space where business leaders, policymakers and community stakeholders could have a substantive conversation grounded in facts, lived experience and the economic realities facing our city.”

Macollvie J. Neel, The Haitian Times’ special projects editor, moderated the event and later led a conversation with Vijay Dandapani, president and CEO of the Hotel Association of New York City, about how the hospitality industry is confronting labor shortages and potential workforce disruptions tied to changing immigration policies.

Marie Lily Cerat, associate director of the CUNY Haitian Studies Institute, opened the event by placing the current immigration debate within the longer history of Haitians in New York.

“It is important for all of us [to understand] that the Haitian presence in this city did not begin in recent decades. It stretches back centuries,” Cerat said.

Cerat cited Venerable Pierre Toussaint, a formerly enslaved man who became a philanthropist and hairdresser in New York City, as an early example of Haitian civic life in the city.

Other speakers turned to the experiences of Haitians facing today’s immigration policies, describing how uncertainty over legal protections has affected workers, employers and families.

Featured speakers included Faiza Ali, commissioner of the New York City Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs; Council Member Farah N. Louis; Council Member Rita Joseph; Stephanie Delia, executive director of Little Haiti BK; Shirley Leyro, associate professor at Borough of Manhattan Community College; and Dandapani. Public Advocate Jumaane Williams and Assemblymember Phara Souffrant also participated in the gathering and delivered remarks.

The conversation also illustrated how uncertainty over immigration status has spread beyond people directly affected by federal policy and into the broader Haitian community.

Neel described the range of reactions to federal actions affecting Haitian TPS, including how fear has affected the Haitian community. Ali emphasized that the consequences could also reach industries and neighborhoods that depend on Haitian workers.

“They are our nurses and home health aides,” the commissioner said. “They are educators and entrepreneurs, restaurant workers, construction workers, and small business owners […] They have paid taxes, they started businesses, they own homes, and they filled critical workforce shortages. They strengthen our neighborhoods.”

That labor question was also at the center of Neel’s conversation with Dandapani, which examined how the hospitality sector is preparing for potential workforce disruptions while contending with existing labor shortages and the city’s longer-term economic needs.

“The government is almost biased against foreigners; it’s unbelievable,” Dandapani said. “This is a nation of immigrants. That has affected our business—people who come here for visitation, work visas, or to visit family.”

Haitian immigrants make up a significant share of New York’s workforce in health care, hospitality, construction and other service industries. Before the federal government moved to end Haiti’s TPS designation, an estimated 40,000 Haitian TPS holders lived in New York, including about 25,000 who were employed, according to FWD.us, an immigration advocacy organization that analyzed Census data. 

The group estimated those workers contributed roughly $863 million annually to the state’s economy and paid more than $280 million in federal, state and local taxes, underscoring the stakes for both employers and Haitian households.

“If we just change a few seats in the house, the chairperson of the foreign affairs in the house will be [Rep.] Gregory Meeks. The speaker of the house will be Hakeem Jeffries,” said Vanel.

“What if the Haitians and the Haitian-Americans in this country focused on just two or three seats to flip to flip the House? What if we worked with the Democratic Party? What if we were able to raise just a few hundred thousand and put it in just two seats? What if we did that? Is that possible? What else can we do?,” he added.

“We need to start going to 2028 with power and leverage…power only respects power.”

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