Haitians Now US Target

Deportation: 'I Came Here Seeking Refuge, Now They Want to Kick Me Out'

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The 500,000-strong Haitian community in the United States is in a state of panic as the Trump administration pushes to deport those who fled here after a huge 2010 earthquake.

"I came here seeking refuge and now they want to kick me out," said Clarens, who obtained temporary protected status (TPS) following the quake that leveled much of his Caribbean island home.

"I believed in the American dream and I thought I could bring the rest of my family here. I thought we would be able to thrive in the United States."

In Miami and New York, where the Haitian diaspora is largest, fear of being returned to the destitute, violent, largely lawless, and gang-ridden island is widespread.