‘We don’t have any help.’ Haitian family’s immigration limbo makes survival difficult
When members of the Deus family arrived in the United States from Haiti in 2016, they had just one goal: to work.
Anide, the family’s matriarch, had left her ailing husband and eldest child behind with the hope of eventually being able to send home money she earned. Her four younger children had come with her thanks to her father, Arnold Joasil, and the Haitian Family Reunification Parole program — but much of the pressure to provide for those she left behind was on her.
This May, Joasil died, changing everything.
“We don’t have any help,” Anide said through a Creole translator.
Now, the family is essentially stuck With Joasil’s death, they’ve lost the very person who sponsored their visa and path to permanent residency in the U.S. Family members say their green card applications have been denied several times without explanation, and the loss of Joasil has only further worsened their situation. They also believe a previous lawyer took advantage of them, asking for a $1,500 retainer before eventually saying their case wasn’t winnable.
Since their documents expired in 2019, they’ve all been unable to work legally or, in the case of her adult children — Robud, 26; Duvens, 22; and Laury, 20 — afford to pursue higher education full time. Their situation is why Sant La Haitian Neighborhood Center’s Gepsie Metellus nominated them for the Miami Herald’s annual Wish Book, a holiday giving program.
“We just want to live in peace, nothing else,” said Robud, who, along with Laury and Duvens, has attended Miami Dade College on and off when they’ve been able to afford classes. Robud’s youngest brother, Woubens, 18, is currently a senior at North Miami Beach High.
“We’re not bad people. None of us never got into any fight. We just go to school, go to work and do what we have to do in this country. We’re not doing anybody any harm,” Robud said.
A lack of steady income also means that the Deus family cannot afford a reputable lawyer to look into their case with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, they said. Fears abound that they will be forced to return to Haiti, a country where the president, Jovenel Moïse, was assassinated in July, violent gangs are kidnapping people for money, and four regions still have not recovered from a devastating August earthquake.
Going back to Haiti is even less of an option now, but filing for Temporary Protective Status, which many have recommended they do, also doesn’t seem to be an option, they said, given that their documents for permanent residency are with U.S. authorities.
“We all just want our green card,” said Robud. “Everything [the U.S. immigration office] asked us to do, we did it. We came here legally so we don’t know why we would apply for TPS.”
Most of all, the Deus siblings feel for their mother, Anide. Before her work permit expired in 2019, she was often working two jobs, a schedule that would sometimes get her out of the house at 4 a.m. and returning at 2 a.m. the following day.
“It’s worse for her if we’re suffering like that,” said Duvens. “Imagine what’s happening in her head. It’s crazy.”
Added Robud: “She loved working because she knows if she was, she could provide for everybody.”
For now, the Deus siblings are just trying to stay positive. Duvens, who wants to pursue a degree in computer science, has been enrolled at Miami Dade College since the fall, while Laury and Robud, after taking a semester off, are planning to be on campus in the spring. Robud planned to join Duvens in the computer science department with hopes they will one day be entrepreneurs. Laury wants to become a nurse, and Woubens has dreams of going into the armed services.
As for Anide, too many people are counting on her for her to just give up now.
“My family is waiting for me to give them a hand,” Anide said. “That’s why I have to keep moving.”
How to help
To help this nominee and 150 other nominees who are in need this year:
▪ To donate, use the coupon found in the newspaper or pay securely online through www.MiamiHerald.com/wishbook
▪ For more information, call 305-376-2906 or emailWishbook@MiamiHerald.com
▪ The most requested items are often laptops and tablets for school, furniture, and accessible vans
Read more at: www.miamiherald.com/wishbook
This story was originally published December 30, 2021 at 7:00 AM.
