Politics
Haitian American, African Immigrant Organizations in Chicago Push Back Against Trump’s Travel Ban
Haitian Americans and supporters gather in downtown Chicago for a “Stop Haitian Hate” rally on Sept. 22, 2024. (Courtesy of Eddy "Precise" Lamarre / Rolling Out Magazine)
Local and statewide organizations representing Haitian American and African immigrants are condemning the Trump administration’s recent travel ban that mainly targets people from African and Middle Eastern countries.
The Trump administration, citing national security concerns, has banned travel to the U.S. by citizens from a dozen countries and imposed heightened restrictions for those from seven others.
The travel ban was announced last week and took effect Monday.
In a joint statement Monday, the Coalition of Haitian American Organizations in the Chicagoland Area and the United African Organization called on congressional leaders to put pressure on President Donald Trump to reverse the ban.
“This policy affects more than just tourism as it will adversely impact the ability of people to travel to the United States for graduations, weddings, to visit family members and to continue their education or conduct business,” Johannes Favi of the Global Initiative for the Advancement of Africa said in a statement.
Trump’s travel ban applies to citizens of Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen. Partial travel restrictions apply to people from Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela.
Countries named in President Donald Trump's travel ban. (AP Digital Embed)
The travel ban includes some exceptions as part of the Trump administration’s efforts to withstand the legal challenges his first administration faced with a similar policy it enacted known as the “Muslim ban.”
Exceptions to the ban include green card holders, dual citizens, athletes traveling for major sporting events like the World Cup and those granted asylum or admitted to the U.S. as refugees before the ban took effect.
More than 128,000 Africans live in Illinois, according to a 2022 report from the United African Organization. In its report, the organization defines African as those born on the African continent, those born in Caribbean nations where the population is predominately of African ancestry, such as Haiti, and U.S.-born children or spouses of those from Africa and specified Caribbean nations. Chicago is home to the largest communities of Haitian Americans and Africans in the state, according to the organization.
In September, the Coalition of Haitian American Organizations in the Chicagoland Area held a “Stop Haitian Hate” rally in downtown Chicago in response to then-candidate Trump’s false and inflammatory comments about Haitian immigrants during a presidential debate.
Darryl Auguste, vice president of the Haitian American Lawyers Association of Illinois and member of the coalition, expressed confusion over Haiti being included in the travel ban, describing the ban as “arbitrary.”
“We don’t understand all the rhetoric that’s being said about Haiti, and we don’t accept it either,” Auguste said. “We want to make sure that we protect our image, we protect our dignity, we protect our value.”
The ripple effect of the travel ban is still not fully known, Auguste said, but the uncertainty creates an instability that impacts nonprofits working in Haiti, businesses in Haiti and those in the U.S. with family members in Haiti.
On Saturday, the coalition and the United African Organization plan to hold a demonstration and news conference in response to the travel ban.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Contact Eunice Alpasan: [email protected]
