ORLANDO, Fla. — The Haitian and Venezuelan communities in central Florida are bracing for yet another federal move that would impact them. President Donald Trump is now imposing travel restrictions for visitors from several countries, including Haiti and Venezuela.
Haitian citizens at the consulate on Thursday voiced their concern, especially for those who are in the U.S. under asylum and cannot visit their family members back home.
Garry Beauplan is an American citizen who’s been in the United States for about 15 years. He was already an engineer back in his home country and now is just one year away from becoming a physician in Florida.
“This is how I can help my community and offer support to them,” he said, reflecting on his journey from Haiti to America. “We were all looking for our American dream.”
He and his wife, Martine, who’s also an U.S. citizen, now have no idea when they’ll see their parents once again, because they’re still back home.
“It’s an ongoing crisis in Haiti. We can deny that. But at the same time, we feel like this is not fair,” Garry Beauplan said.
“They (Haitians) are hardworking people. They are not here to cause any harm, they’re here to find better a living,” said Martine Beauplan.
The Beauplans’ concern comes as the Trump administration imposes drastic travel restrictions for Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen. There will be increased restrictions on visitors from Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela.
“This is due to the vetting process when it comes to getting visas, but also to issues in these countries not receiving foreign aliens who have overstayed,” said Andrea Bowers, an immigration attorney in Orlando.
The White House says Haiti has a 31% overstay rate for tourist visas and claims the country cannot ensure its citizens won’t undermine America’s national security. As a result, the entry of any Haitians in the U.S. - either to visit or to live – is set to be suspended.
The same limitation was also imposed on Venezuelan citizens. Additionally, the president also required the consulate in Venezuela to reduce the number of visas given out in the country.
“It’s interesting that this happened just a week after the Supreme Court upheld his decision to terminate humanitarian paroles for citizens from Cuba, Venezuela, and some other countries,” Bowers said. “In this travel ban you see some of the same countries being repeated which is obviously a form of saying that these people are not welcome here.”
The ban takes effect at 12:01 a.m. Monday.
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