General Interest, News, Past Events, Photos & Videos, Videos

Update on Haitian Immigration in the United States (June 18, 2026)

Date & Time: June 18, 2026 4pm ET – ZOOM

The event provides an update on Haitian immigration in the United States. Panelists address the volatile and shifting immigration landscape for Haitians, touching on the SCOTUS TPS case, and Congressional TPS advocacy. This timely conversation is for the public and will help clarify misconceptions about current immigration policy and procedures.

Darlène Dubuisson (Moderator)

Darlène Dubuisson is an Assistant Professor of Caribbean Studies at the University of California, Berkeley. She is the author of Reclaiming Haiti’s Futures: Returned Intellectuals, Placemaking and Radical Imagination (Rutgers University Press, 2024) and coauthor of  Legalized Inequalities: Immigration and Race in the Low-Wage Workplace (RSF Press, 2025). Beyond her scholarship, Dubuisson is an immigrant rights advocate and has served as an expert witness for Haitian asylum cases in the United States and Canada.

Gabrielle Apollon

Director, Haitian Immigrant Rights Project

Global Justice Clinic

Gabrielle Apollon directs the Haitian Immigrant Rights Project at NYU School of Law’s Global Justice Clinic. She also coordinates the Hemispheric Network for Haitian Migrants’ Rights, a coalition of Haitian migrant rights’ leaders collaborating to combat the anti-Black racism and cyclical displacement Haitians have faced as they’ve migrated throughout the Western Hemisphere. Prior to her current role, Gabrielle headed The Door’s Legal Services Center’s affirmative immigration practice as Managing Attorney. A graduate of NYU Law, Gabrielle also holds a B.A. and a Master of International Affairs from Columbia University.

Geralde Gabeau

Dr. Geralde Gabeau is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of IFSI-USA and a nationally recognized advocate for immigrant rights and community empowerment. With decades of experience serving immigrant and refugee populations, she has led innovative initiatives that expand access to housing, healthcare, education, legal services, and economic opportunity. A respected voice on immigration and social justice, Dr. Gabeau holds a Doctorate in Strategic Foresight from Regent University and degrees in Public Health and Management.

Jesse Hoffnung-Garskof

Professor of History, Director of Graduate Studies

Harvard University

Jesse Hoffnung-Garskof is Professor of History and Director of the Immigrant Justice Lab at Harvard University.  The Immigrant Justice Lab coordinates academic research and other forms of scholarship in collaboration with organizations that defend the legal rights of immigrants in the United States.

View Recorded Event:

Resources shared during Zoom

• NYT article on the targeting of pregnant women in the Dominican Republic
• NYT article about the motion that was filed earlier this week
• Center for Gender & Refugee Studies offers expert witness trainings
• Asylum applicants can access biannual reports on human rights conditions in Haiti published by the Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti
• Interested in supporting phonebanking Senate for TPS: Cecilia@ijdh.org
• Senate Bill 4814 Advocacy:
  • These are the only Senators who have signed on so far to Senate Bill 4814, so if you don’t see your Senator’s name on here, start reaching out to them! The legislation is cosponsored by Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Andy Kim (D-N.J.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.), Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Angus King (I-Maine), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii.), and Michael Bennet (D-Colo.).
  • The press release and bill text here
  • Haitian Bridge Alliance is circulating a letter in support of this bill which needs organizational endorsements.
• UN Definition of refugee
• Resources from the Immigration Justice Lab at the University of Michigan
• Other opportunities to volunteer and support advocacy:

  • https://floridaimmigrant.org/events/  (does accept remote interpreters)

  • https://haitianrefugees.org/ (presented amicus brief in the Miot case which highlights the long history of immigration policy re: Haitians in the U.S.)