Rep. Mike Lawler urges removal of troubled Haiti from President Trump's travel ban
Congressman Mike Lawler on Thursday came out against Haiti's inclusion on President Trump's travel ban.
The move prevents the entry of foreigners from 12 countries who are seeking to come to the U.S. permanently as legal immigrants, as well as those with temporary visas, including tourists. Lawler is strongly urging the Trump administration to reconsider the full suspension of entry for Haitian nationals.
"We have a moral duty to help"
Lawler, a Republican who represents all of Rockland and portions of Westchester, Putnam and Dutchess counties in New York, said Haiti's humanitarian crisis, including gang-related atrocities that have resulted in 1,600 killed in the first three months of 2025, is reason enough to embrace the troubled Caribbean nation, not reject its people outright.
"Haiti's disaster has been growing, and given our proximity to the nation and our historical interventions. We have a moral duty to help. Haitians cannot do it alone," Lawler said in a statement. "This travel ban will only deepen the suffering of Haitians, many of whom have strong ties to the U.S., including the vibrant Haitian diaspora in the Hudson Valley that I represent in Congress, and risks isolating Haiti further at a time when they need our support most."
Back in February, Lawler urged Mr. Trump to maintain Temporary Protected Status for Haitian citizens in the U.S., noting the country's "unstable and dangerous" conditions following the 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse, which gave way to a rise in gang violence.
"I strongly urge the Trump administration to immediately remove Haiti from this list, or at the very least, reduce it to a partial ban as was done for countries like Cuba and Venezuela," Lawler said. "Last month, Secretary [of State Marco] Rubio testified that the Trump administration is 'prepared to play a leading role' in the Organization of American States and asserted that the UN-authorized Multinational Security Support Mission 'alone will not solve this problem.' I urge the administration to move forward with such a leading role, including a potential security mission led by OAS to end the crisis and lead Haiti on a path to stability."
Here are the countries on the travel ban list
Citing national security in the wake of last week's terror attack in Boulder, Colorado, Mr. Trump signed a proclamation on Wednesday night that bars travelers from the following countries to enter the U.S. permanently as legal immigrants, as well as those with temporary visas:
- Afghanistan
- Myanmar
- Chad
- The Republic of the Congo
- Equatorial Guinea
- Eritrea
- Haiti
- Iran
- Libya
- Somalia
- Sudan
- Yemen
The proclamation also partially suspends the entry of travelers and immigrants from Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela.
The ban takes effect on Monday.
"People can't even leave and try to get a better life"
CBS News New York's Mahsa Saeidi spoke to families at the Haitian Consulate on Fifth Avenue.
"With Trump putting this into place, it is really hard because now people can't even leave and try to get a better life," Franky Joseph said. "I feel like this is totally, completely discriminating against certain groups."
Joseph had come to the consulate to get passports for his relatives, but now he has all new questions.
"For me to be here is a privilege, but at the same time I would love to go back to my country and help my people," Joseph said. "If the people that stay and then they leave, can they come back?"
Consul General Jean Ary Ceant said phones started ringing off the hook the second news of the travel ban broke.
According to the order signed by Mr. Trump, the ban does not apply to people with visas already in the country. Ceant says even before this latest crackdown, Haitians were on edge.
"Right now, everybody is lost, including me," Ceant said. "People stop going to work in the fear of being caught by ICE and go to Salvador. Not only Haitian, but those countries that are on the list are at the mercy of the immigration officer. They can revoke, they can ban, they deny your entry. It's going to be up to them."
"Basically condemning our family and friends to death"
Wesley Jean Simon was born in Haiti and raised in New Jersey. His restaurant, Djon Djon, sits in the heart of Brooklyn's Little Haiti neighborhood. The enclave is now fearing even more for their families back home.
"His decision is basically condemning our family and friends to death," Simon said.
More than 1 million Haitian Americans already live in the United States, many fleeing a homeland plagued by gang violence.
"When you're looking at all these countries that he names, they're, OK, at war with other countries. We're at war within ourselves. And all the weapons are coming from where? America," Simon said.
"The United States can help play an integral role in addressing some of the challenges on the ground, including the gun trafficking that is emanating from the U.S. into Haiti," Lawler told CBS News New York's Ali Bauman.
Simon, meanwhile, hopes the ban won't last long.
"It is going to get reversed sooner than people think," he said. "There's no concrete evidence behind why he's doing it, so he's just doing it. And then when it suits their policy, then you're going to turn around and fix it. But how about the people that lost their lives?"
