US Congressional Black Caucus Joins Condemnation of Trump’s Travel Ban
WASHINGTON, DC – As outrage intensifies over United States President Donald J. Trump’s latest travel ban, the US Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) on Friday joined in strongly condemning the ban that bars people from 12 countries, including Haiti, from entering the US.
Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke.Besides Haiti, Trump on Wednesday banned people from Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen from entering the US.
The US President also placed restrictions on travelers from Cuba, Venezuela, Burundi, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo and Turkmenistan.
“President Trump’s proclamation to ban, block, and/or limit the entry of people from 19 countries—many of which are predominantly Black and brown nations—is nothing more than a blatantly cruel and racist attempt to prevent select foreign nationals from accessing opportunities,” said CBC, chaired by Caribbean-American Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke, the daughter of Jamaican immigrants, who represents the 9th Congressional District in Brooklyn, New York.
“By falsely labelling these individuals as terrorists and threats to our nation, the administration continues its age-old, hideous practice of perpetuating family fragmentation,” added CBC in a statement. “This proclamation has nothing to do with national security; rather, it represents a continuation of the Trump administration’s long-standing pattern of bigoted attacks against Black and brown nations.
“His aim is to create fear, sow division, and demonize the vulnerable—many of whom are struggling to recover from catastrophic circumstances, seeking life-saving medical attention, or have waited decades to be reunited with family members,” it continued. “Others are fleeing brutal regimes in search of safety and a better life in the United States.”
In view of the urgency of the situation, CBC disclosed that members met this week with Haitian Ambassador to the United States, Lionel Delatour, to discuss the travel ban and other critical matters.
“The Congressional Black Caucus remains steadfast in its commitment to protecting our nation’s most vulnerable communities—many of whom have direct ties to the countries targeted by this travel ban,” the statement said. “From the very beginning, the foundation of our country has been built and fortified by people who have migrated here from across the globe.
HBA Executive Director Guerline Jozef.
“America is a true melting pot of humanity, and our diversity permeates every aspect of society,” it added. “That the Trump administration continues to take steps to dismantle this notion, rewrite our shared history, and impose cruelty on the American people and those we hold dear is simply unconscionable.
“It is critical that people of goodwill stand united against this bigoted ban,” CBC continued. “We cannot stand by and allow President Trump to continue targeting these communities and threatening the very fabric of our nation.
“President Trump’s original travel ban was defeated in the courts, and we will continue fighting to ensure this one meets the same fate,” it affirmed. “Enough is enough!”
On Thursday, the Co-Chairs of the Haiti Caucus in the US House of Representatives joined in strongly condemning Trump’s travel ban.
“We condemn Donald Trump’s bigoted travel ban in the strongest possible terms,” said Co-chairs Clarke and Ayanna Pressley, representative for Massachusetts’s 7th Congressional District, in a joint statement.
New York State Assembly Member Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn.“Let’s be clear: the President of the United States has committed an unambiguously xenophobic attack on the most vulnerable people in the world, many of whom will die as a direct consequence of his cruelty,” they added. “These are children, women and men who are fleeing political turmoil and war, who are trying to survive famine and natural catastrophes.
“Haitians and so many others are drowning, and Donald Trump just ripped a life preserver from their desperate arms and tied weights around their ankles,” Clarke and Pressley continued. “But the continuation of their suffering is the point. This is a targeted abuse of hundreds of millions of Black and Brown people at a scale of cruelty even beyond the historically despicable Muslim and African Bans, and it’s undergirded by nothing but baseless accusations and one man’s insatiable hate.
“The American people know that. No matter what sick justifications he gives or sadistic lies he spins, we see this vile, unlawful act for what is. Just as we see him for who he is,” they said.
Therefore, the co-chairs called on “all people of conscience to recognize this cruelty for what it is” and asked to join them in “standing with the innocent people who Donald Trump sought to hurt through this executive order.
“In the face of such brutal inhumanity, they need more than our support, and they need more than our love,” Clarke and Pressley said. “Only our unwavering and absolute commitment to fight against this depraved act in the courts, in our communities, and in the halls of Congress is sufficient at this moment.”
Separately, Clarke, who chairs the Congressional Black Caucus, earlier on Thursday told the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC) that Trump’s travel ban is “not a new policy; it’s a dangerous sequel to the same discriminatory playbook he used during his first term with the infamous Muslim Ban.
“That policy tore families apart, sowed fear in immigrant communities, and betrayed America’s values,” she said. “Now, with a wider list of targeted nations, he is doubling down on the same hateful rhetoric and xenophobic strategy.
“The ban’s scope and lack of nuanced security assessments reveal its true nature: a political maneuver rooted in prejudice rather than a genuine effort to protect our nation,” Clarke added. “This renewed travel ban is nothing short of a thinly veiled continuation of his anti-immigrant, anti-Black, and anti-Muslim agenda, and it is rooted in the very foundation set by Project 2025.”
Project 2025 is a political initiative led by the Washington-based Heritage Foundation, a conservative (Republican) think tank. The “project” is considered a blueprint for a potential conservative administration, primarily aiming to radically restructure the US Executive Branch and implement far-right policies.
“Let me be clear: this latest travel ban is not a matter of national security, but is rather a blatant continuation of Donald Trump’s longstanding war on Black and brown immigrants,” Clarke said. “From the moment he referred to African nations as ‘shithole countries,’ his agenda has been crystal clear: to demonize and shut out people of color from the promise of America.
“The 9th Congressional District of New York represents a cultural mosaic of diversity, and I see every day how immigrant families strengthen our neighborhoods, drive our economy, and enrich our culture,” she added.
The congresswoman said her “heart breaks for my constituents, because this disturbing decision doesn’t just impact the millions still confined to their home nations; It cuts off the lifeline of their family members who have found a new home in my district and across America who rely on resources from their families here in the states.
“They all deserve dignity — not discrimination,” Clarke continued. “I stand with them, and I will use every tool at my disposal in Congress to oppose this unjust and un-American ban.”
The San Diego, California-based Haitian Bridge Alliance (HBA), an immigrant advocacy group, also strongly denounced Trump’s travel ban.
“This is not about national security — this is about systemic racism, xenophobia, and the criminalization of Black, Brown, and Muslim bodies globally,” HBA Executive Director Guerline Jozef told CMC. “Once again, US immigration policy is being weaponized to deny entry, dignity and basic human rights to people from countries that have long borne the brunt of colonialism, Western intervention and economic extraction.”
“This is the same administration that deports Black immigrants only to import White refugees from South Africa under the false claim of genocide,” she added. “We cannot continue to normalize executive orders that single out Black, Brown, and Muslim-majority countries for exclusion.
“Congress must act by codifying guardrails that prevent the wholesale banning of nationals from entire regions of the world under the pretext of ‘national security’”, Jozef continued. “The fate of families, students, workers, and asylum seekers depends on it.
“The Pan-African community — across the US Africa, and the Diaspora — must stand united against these draconian policies that echo a long history of Western exclusion and exploitation of the Global South,” she urged.
Late Thursday, Make the Road New York (MRNY), another immigrant advocacy group, denounced Trump’s latest travel ban.
“Trump is once again unleashing his racist playbook, weaponizing xenophobia to terrorize immigrant communities,” MRNY Deputy Director Natalia Aristizabal told CMC. “This cruel policy will tear apart families who have already survived unimaginable violence and persecution, forcing them into permanent separation from their loved ones.
“It abandons our nation’s commitment to be a beacon of hope for those seeking safety and opportunity, all while doing nothing to make our communities safer,” she added. “But Trump has once again miscalculated. His deportation machine is meeting resistance at every turn: judges are blocking him, mayors are standing up against him, and people across the country are rising up in protest.
“We defeated Trump’s first travel ban, and we will defeat this one, too,” Aristizabal vowed. “Make the Road stands ready to fight this policy with every tool at our disposal – in the streets, in the courtroom, and in our communities.
“We are stronger than Trump’s hate, and we will not back down until all immigrants can live with dignity and freedom in this country,” she continued.
Earlier on Thursday, Haitian-American legislators in Brooklyn expressed outrage over Trump’s action.
“It is with outrage and concern that Trump’s administration has imposed a new travel ban that disproportionately affects African and Caribbean nations, including Haiti,” New York State Assembly Member Rodnesye Bichotte Hermelyn, the Haitian-American chair of the Brooklyn Democratic Party, told CMC.
“As the daughter of Haitian immigrants, I condemn this discriminatory policy against Haiti and other countries,” added the representative for the 42nd Assembly District in Brooklyn. “This decision will create chaos, threaten families, and harm diplomatic relations, causing fear and uncertainty.
“I urge Americans to oppose Trump’s racist and xenophobic policies, and fight to restore democracy in our legislative, executive and judicial branches,” Bichotte Hermelyn continued.
New York City Council Member Farah N. Louis, the daughter of Haitian and Bahamian immigrants, said Trump’s decision to impose travel restrictions on 12 countries, including Haiti, “represents a despicable and deeply troubling moment for our community.
“Haiti is once again being unfairly targeted, and this is clearly an intentional attack on our identity and dignity,” the representative for the 45th Council District in Brooklyn told CMC. “This federal government has exhibited ongoing hostility toward Haiti and Haitian nationals in the United States—people who have fought to make their home here and invested heavily in our economy while supporting our shared values.
“Reports of this recent and immediate travel ban compound the crisis we are already confronting—the administration’s massive deportation efforts scheduled for August 2025,” Louis added.
She said that turning away Haitians fleeing violence and political instability is “cruel policy wrapped in false justification.
“The United States has a moral obligation to protect, not punish, the vulnerable,” the councilmember said. “This decision punishes people fleeing crisis and betrays the values we claim to uphold.”
Louis disclosed that the National Haitian American Organisation Network—uniting Haitian elected officials and executive leaders nationwide—will soon announce “a comprehensive, coordinated national strategy to support Haitian nationals affected by this recent decision.
“Together, we stand committed to protecting our community and ensuring their voices are heard,” she said.
Louis’s City Council colleague Rita Joseph, the Haitian-born representative for the 40th Council District in Brooklyn, also told CMC that Trump “fails to acknowledge the humanitarian crisis driving the instability in Haiti.
“This travel ban punishes those who are victims of extraordinary violence, lawlessness and political instability,” she said. “The situation in Haiti is, indeed, dire–over 5,600 people were killed in gang violence in 2024 alone, and one million people have been displaced, half of whom are children.
“The country faces what the United Nations has called “a point of no return”, with nearly half of the population facing high levels of acute food insecurity,” she added. “Rather than closing our doors to Haitian nationals fleeing this violence, we should be working with the Haitian community in the Diaspora and at home along with international partners to address the root causes of the crisis.”
Joseph noted that gang violence has expanded into new regions, with at least four massacres claiming over 400 lives in recent months.
“The Haitian people are not the source of this instability – they are its victims,” she said. “These travel restrictions come at a time when Haiti desperately needs international support, not isolation. Nearly half of the Haitian population needs some form of humanitarian assistance, and cutting off pathways for legal migration only compounds the suffering of those seeking safety and opportunity.”
The council member called on Trump to reconsider these restrictions as they apply to Haiti and instead focus on: Supporting efforts to restore security and stability with the people of Haiti; facilitating humanitarian assistance to address the immediate needs of the Haitian people, such as famine, economic instability, healthcare and more; and working with regional partners to tackle the flow of weapons fueling gang violence.
Joseph also urged the Trump administration to conduct congressional oversight on the illegal flow of weapons into Haiti and the wider Caribbean region, and to maintain pathways for Haitian nationals to seek refuge and opportunity in the United States.
“Our country has always been strengthened by those who have come here seeking a better life, including many members of our Haitian community who have contributed immeasurably to our city’s character and economy,” she said. “We must not turn our backs on them in their hour of greatest need.
“As a New York City Council Member who represents a significant Haitian community in my district, I will remain steadfast in my advocacy for their protection and support,” she added. “The answer to Haiti’s crisis is not to slam the door shut, but to extend a helping hand while working toward lasting solutions that restore peace, stability and prosperity.”
In a White House proclamation on Wednesday, Trump said, “The restrictions and limitations imposed by this proclamation are, in my judgment, necessary to prevent the entry or admission of foreign nationals about whom the United States Government lacks sufficient information to assess the risks they pose to the United States.
“The restrictions and limitations imposed by this proclamation are necessary to garner cooperation from foreign governments, enforce our immigration laws, and advance other important foreign policy, national security, and counterterrorism objectives,” Trump added.
On Friday, the Haitian government said it was disappointed with Trump’s decision, lamenting that the action “comes at a time when the Haitian government is striving, with the support of its international partners, to combat insecurity and strengthen border security.
“While taking into account the immigration policy measures adopted in the exercise of the sovereign rights of a foreign government, the ministry draws attention to the danger posed by armed gangs, recently designated terrorist groups, to Haiti’s relations with other countries,” said the Haitian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a statement.
It said it is aware of the consequences of the decision by Washington on Haitian families both inside and outside the French-speaking Caribbean country, and is committed to working towards rapid solutions.
However, the ministry said that the Haitian government intends to continue dialogue and cooperation with Washington on security and migration policy.
