Some Haitian immigrants in the Albertville area are now "self-deporting" after the Trump administration ended a Biden-era parole program on Tuesday that allowed illegal aliens from certain countries to immigrate to the United States.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced on Tuesday a parole program that began in 2022 under President Joe Biden that allowed illegal Cuban, Haitian, Nicaraguan, and Venezuelan aliens and immediate family members to immigrate to America would be terminated effective April 24.
According to DHS, the temporary parole period of aliens in the United States under the CHNV parole programs and whose parole has not already expired by April 24 will terminate on that date unless the Secretary makes an individual determination to the contrary. Parolees without a lawful basis to remain in the United States following this termination of the CHNV parole programs must depart the United States before their parole termination date.
Jeff Lamour, a Haitian American businessman in Albertville, said there aren't many options for Haitians in Alabama under the parole program set to expire.
"That's going to affect a lot of people. There's been a lot of people moving away, and it also created a brand new industry of people smuggling people out because once somebody is being deported, they're going to go straight back to Haiti. Some people are smuggling back out to Mexico. There's a private industry making millions of dollars over here because people can't go back and deport themselves because they're going to get deported back to Haiti which Haiti right now is under a crisis for gangs and violence in the capital area and so people are having to kind of self-deport themselves back to Mexico and some of them are going back to Chile so they're kind of making their way back out," Lamour told 1819 News on Tuesday. "There's not much you can do. The president wants what the president wants. That's what the American people want and the president has got to respect what the American people want. Americans are really frustrated."
Lamour said, "There have been a lot of people leaving, especially in the Albertville area, to go to different places and stuff."
'There's just been a lot of panicking and whatnot in this community. Some people just simply want to be here to work, you know? There's not really a legal channel to go through Haiti to come back over here because they just don't have a stabilized government. They've been promising elections for the elected government in Haiti, but that hasn't taken place yet, so it's run by this group of guys that's not even elected. It's a lot of corruption and funding the gang and all that stuff and there's no election. If you come out here, you'll see there's like judges, prosecutors, people that are here in hiding. Imagine you put a criminal in jail, and then next thing you know, the president has died, and gangs are taking over (and) the gangs are overpowering the police. Now, you're the prosecutor that put them in jail. What do you think is going to happen to you? You have to flee the country, and you end up in some place like America illegally because you couldn't get a visa because they're not giving out visas. A lot of people are saying Biden is to blame with his Biden programs and stuff. It's a messy situation, believe it or not," Lamour said. "As a young guy that grew up here that had white parents that raised me, I understand both sides. Sometimes, I don't make any comments because imagine you're living in a $300,000 house down the road, and you've got three guys, ten guys living in one house that's next door to your $300,000 house that's going to make you nervous, you know? A lot of people don't seem to understand that."
Lamour called the parole program the "Biden scam program" because companies and staffing agencies used the program to pay lower wages.
"I'm a small business owner. I do a lot of stuff for the community, work with the mayor all of the time, work with governments in different cities and stuff, but I want people that's here properly vetted. You want to make sure you get the right people," Lamour said.
Some Haitians are choosing to leave the area through private shuttle services. Lamour claimed the shuttle services are run by "private individuals," and some illegal Haitian aliens are choosing to go back to Chile.
"You pick a van. You put nine guys in there. You charge them $10,000 per head because a lot of people that are working are saving their money. You drive them out to New Mexico and smuggle them out of the country because they have the option to go to Chile through there. A lot of people are going back to Chile. Chile is getting residents from Haiti because there's a population shortage, and they're one of the booming economies, so they need people. They make it easy for people to get their citizenship. They just require you to have $1,000 in the bank for them to do that," Lamour said.
Republican lawmakers told 1819 News on Tuesday they support ending the Biden-era CHNV parole program.
"I have long called for the termination of the CHNV parole program that facilitated the entry of hundreds of thousands of individuals who otherwise had no lawful basis to be in our country. This program, along with other Biden Administration immigration policies, has resulted in very real, devastating consequences for communities across our nation, including in Alabama. I could not be more grateful for President Trump's efforts to end this abuse of immigration parole, and for his continued leadership to secure our borders and protect our families," U.S. Sen. Katie Britt (R-Montgomery) said in a statement.
U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Auburn) said the program was used as a cover for "mass amnesty."
"For four years, the Biden administration used parole programs as a cover for mass amnesty. President Trump is correct in pulling back these illegally-implemented programs and securing the U.S. once again," Tuberville said.
U.S. Rep. Robert Aderholt (R-Haleyville) said, "I support ending this program because it has been abused far beyond its original intent. As the name suggests, Temporary Protected Status (TPS) was never meant to be a permanent pathway to citizenship. It was also supposed to include background checks and require applicants to have a U.S.-based sponsor, but in many cases, these safeguards were not enforced. Reports of widespread fraud have further exposed the program's flaws."
"Communities like Albertville have felt the direct and often negative impact, as local government services have been overwhelmed while the Biden Administration turned a blind eye. The American people want a secure border and an immigration system that is fair, legal, and enforced. It's time to put our communities first and restore order to our nation's immigration policies," Aderholt continued. "I applaud President Trump and Secretary Noem for doing what seems like such an alien concept to so many, enforcing our laws."
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