Some Haitian voters turn to Trump, putting priorities other than immigration as top issue

In Roudy Cherenfant’s professional circle in Charlotte, North Carolina, most people he encounters in his construction business are Republicans – some of whom help him network. During Donald Trump’s first term, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee provided funding to Cherenfant’s alma mater, Clark Atlanta University, to help it stay open. And, when Cherenfant looks at Trump’s family interactions, the 47-year-old father of four sees a man who is “a great father to his kids.”

Meanwhile, the Democratic Party that Cherenfant once supported seems more focused on helping “everyone else” more than the Black community, he said. On top of that, United States foreign policy under various Democratic administrations propped up Haitian politicians who tanked the country.

“We voted for Bill and Hillary Clinton, and look at what they did to our country,” Cherenfant said  in a phone interview Tuesday. “The main thing is we’re just tired. We just want something different. Now let’s see what the Republican Party is going to do for us.”

Cherenfant echoes the sentiments of several Haitian American voters interviewed this week and numerous social media users’ posts about voting for Trump in November’s face-off against President Joe Biden. These Haitian American voters listed inflation, world wars, conservative values and past history with Haiti as major grievances for rejecting Democrats. Those issues, they say, are more important than immigration policy, the age-old bet that Democrats often make to appeal to Haitian voters. A bloc that U.S. Census Bureau data now puts at 753,000 voters nationwide.

To be clear, the pro-Trump sentiments are usually refuted online and offline by the overwhelmingly staunch group of Haitian Americans who largely vote Democratic. Yet, socio-political analysts say, the sentiment is not uncommon among immigrant voters overall who do not feel represented by either party. They also say that, historically, the longer an immigrant lives in America, the more likely their community is to see shifts in political party affiliations. With this election in particular, voters are consumed with changes that have upended their way of life — chiefly their dollars not stretching as far.

“It’s a good idea to have competition,” said Dr. François Pierre-Louis, a political science professor of International Migration Studies at Queens College who has studied the Haitian diaspora. “So it’s good to have Haitians going to support the Republicans, but the same issues will come up if we don’t have a clear path and clear strategy of what we want.”

Pierre-Louis added, “Historically, we haven’t had an agenda, and I think both parties have used that as an excuse.”

Conservative values trumps “scary” leadership

In this election, Haitian Trump supporters are largely either tired of the Democratic Party “passing them by,” drawn to the Republicans’ social conservatism and economic policies, or both. 

Julio Volcy, pastor of the Rendez-Vous Church in Bradenton, Fla., has been a Republican since becoming a naturalized citizen in 1999. He voted Democratic only once, in 2008, to elect Barack Obama. His priorities are, in rank order, conservative values such as state’s rights on abortion, economic policies that favor small government, and then immigration. With the latter, he said, policies like Biden’s humanitarian parole are detrimental to both the individual recipients and Haiti as a state because the executive order is “pretty much forcing people to come here.”

“The Democratic party could’ve done a better job,” Volcy said. “The energy spent on humanitarian parole could’ve been spent on helping Haiti. Its citizens could’ve stayed home instead of [facing] the misery they’re dealing with at the border.

“Our decisions shouldn’t be [based] just on immigration,” he said.

For Emmanuel Depas, a New York-based immigration attorney, the draw to vote for Trump is not the man’s personality nor the Republican Party. As an independent voter without a party affiliation, Depas describes his views as being in the middle because, like most Haitians, he was raised to be conservative even while voting Democratic for immigration. 

Now, he says, after looking underneath the policies of both parties on a range of issues – from the electric vehicles to the ongoing global conflicts – most of his positions align with Trump’s. Depas also said he recognizes the quality of life for Black people may suffer under stiffer law enforcement and that his immigration clients may lose out, but he’s looking at the bigger picture.

“The actual person scares me,” Depas said of Trump. “If Trump is re-elected, the U.S. will stop the Ukraine. To prevent World War 3, that whole Ukraine situation versus preserving the quality of life here, is how I’m seeing this.”

To Cherenfant and Volcy, the statements Trump has made that so many find alarming – from the “sh**hole countries” to race-baiting rhetoric to mass deportation – are not as concerning. 

“Some things he says, I don’t agree with, but he’s human,” Cherenfant, who describes himself as “a man of God” said. “The major thing I like about him is that he was a great father. He took care of his kids. If you’re a great father, your kids will grow up to be great individuals, and that’s what’s going to change the world.”

As for racism, Cherenfant said it’s everywhere, including in Haiti, where he experienced it for his skin tone and hair texture.

Volcy also dismissed concerns about deportations, saying that people living here through legal pathways like TPS were allowed to stay under Trump’s first term. As for the sh**hole comment, Volcy said it’s “hard to hear” anybody speak that way about any country, but Haitians should focus on doing more for Haiti instead of worrying about someone’s words. He, for one, runs a church in Haiti with a youth development program largely modeled after the faith-based “Teen Challenge” against addiction.

Overall, he said, seeing the pride on display at the Republican National Convention (RNC) solidified he’s on the right path regardless of the person at the head. 

“What makes America great is because the American people [have] their values,” Volcy said. “As a foreigner with humble beginnings, I’ve had success here. You work hard, learn about the culture, give back in return, [and] you can have success. But you have to pay the price.”

Diversity within Haitian American electorate expected 

Looking back at his move toward the Republicans, Depas said having gone to college and understanding civics deeper are factors in his evolution from the older Haitian generation.

“It’s natural for us to become multi-issue voters,” he said. “That’s why I can’t say I’m a total Republican.”

The Haitian American electorate comprises roughly 753,232, according to an analysis of Census Bureau data conducted by The Haitian Times and Dr. Gilbert Saint-Jean, director of policy and research at Haiti Renewal Alliance, a development-focused organization based in Washington, D.C. The figure is about two-thirds of the 1,138,855 people of Haitian ancestry estimated to be living in the U.S. overall, with both numbers steadily increasing since the 2000s.

To date, no definitive studies are available to show the voting patterns of Haitians in the U.S. over prior decades on a large scale. However, political scientists say, some people breaking away from an established bloc is not uncommon – for immigrants or any group thought to be a political monolith. 

Historically, Pierre-Louis said, Italian and Irish voters migrated in droves from the Democrat to Republican parties as those groups became more upwardly mobile or felt unserved, respectively. Similarly, it’s not uncommon now to be around Haitian doctors, real estate professionals and others in lucrative jobs who identify with Republicans on lower taxes and for access to high-earning networks.

“Some support Trump – the well-to-do, the established ones – because they think they’ll pay less taxes,” Pierre-Louis said. 

“They’re also in denial,” he added. “They think if I’m a U.S. citizen, Trump won’t pick me and send me back to Haiti. What they don’t understand is that if you’re Black, you’re not safe with Trump. Trump wants a white country.”

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Some Haitian voters turn to Trump, putting priorities other than immigration as top issue was first posted on July 18, 2024 at 6:59 pm.