Congressman Mike Lawler stood alongside Haitian leaders and dozens of Haitian-American community members in Spring Valley on Thursday afternoon to strongly oppose the Trump administration’s efforts to revoke Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haitian nationals and impose a complete travel ban to Haiti. The event also served as a celebration of the recent release of Spring Valley High School student Alan Junior Pierre from ICE custody, following Lawler’s direct intervention.
As Monsey Scoop previously reported, Pierre, a Haitian refugee residing in Rockland County, was detained after complying with a scheduled biometrics appointment—prompting outrage and swift action from Lawler’s office. “It shouldn’t take a call from a Congressman to fix a broken system,” Lawler said. “But we did what was necessary to make things right.”
Lawler sharply criticized the administration’s immigration policies, especially its move to end TPS for Haiti—a country he described as gripped by gang rule, political instability, and humanitarian disaster. “To force people back into that chaos is not just misguided—it’s inhumane,” Lawler said. “TPS was designed for exactly this kind of situation.”
The Trump administration has been pushing to phase out TPS protections for numerous countries, including Haiti, under the argument that conditions have improved. Lawler, however, rejected that notion outright. “Haiti is not safe,” he said. “There is no functioning government. Gangs control the streets. Even the U.S. Embassy in Port-au-Prince is shuttered. Sending anyone back there now would be unconscionable.”
Lawler, who serves on the House Foreign Affairs Committee and the Western Hemisphere Subcommittee, emphasized that Haiti’s future must be secured through international cooperation. “One peacekeeping force alone won’t solve this,” he said. “It will take a global coalition—and real pressure—to restore order and pave the way for free and fair elections.”
The Congressman also used the platform to advocate for broader immigration reform, touting his co-sponsorship of the bipartisan Dignity Act. “We can have both security and compassion,” Lawler said. “We can enforce our laws while also standing up for families who followed the rules and are just seeking safety and opportunity.”
Among those present were community leaders, clergy, and members of the Haitian American Nurses Association. Lawler thanked them for their contributions and reaffirmed his commitment to support the Haitian diaspora—Rockland County being home to the second largest Haitian population per capita in the U.S.
Alan Junior Pierre’s release, Lawler said, is a moment of relief but not the end of the fight. “We celebrate Alan’s freedom today, but thousands more remain in limbo. This fight continues—not just in our community, but on the floor of Congress.”
Do you think anyone in DHS cares about these stupid speeches? Lawler is pandering to the minority communities but its not helpful to them and not where the crises is. There is a crisis of illegals taking over single-family homes waay past capacity bringing crime to peaceful neighborhoods, with a child KILLED by DUI as just the most recent consequence. We need ICE and DEA to come and make hundreds of arrests and we need local government to step up enforcement against unsafe and unsavory dwelling in Rockland county.