Jean-Baptiste said that at the current moment, Philadelphia Haitians are \u201cjust trying to plan and figure out what\u2019s gonna happen next.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\u201cI know there\u2019s some people looking at Canada,\u201d Jean-Baptiste said. \u201cI have friends that [have] left to Mexico. There are all these different places. I think they\u2019re just trying to figure out where to go.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
Rachelle Leger, founder of Haitians of Philadelphia<\/a>, an Instagram account dedicated to connecting Philadelphia\u2019s Haitian community, said many are uncertain about the changes the next day, or even the next hour, could bring. Community members are \u201ckeeping their heads down and just honestly just hoping for the best,\u201d Leger said.\n<\/p>\n \u201cI think most people at this point, they just continue to do what they do, just go to work, take care of family, pay bills, until the moment comes where they can\u2019t.\u201d\n <\/p>\n The decision to leave involves more than just one person, Leger said. Many Philadelphia Haitians have built lives in the city, owning houses and businesses. Additionally, some have American-born children whose lives they don\u2019t want to disturb.\n<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s nothing structured to go back to,\u201d Leger said. \u201cIt would separate families, and the children and whoever will probably end up staying here in the States to continue their education, because that\u2019s really important to Haitian people.\u201d\n<\/p>\n Jean-Baptiste said the Supreme Court\u2019s ruling is a letdown for people who believe in the American Dream and were optimistic about building a life in the U.S.\n<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s always been the sentiment that, \u2018Hey, if you come to the United States, you follow the rules, you have an equal opportunity to make this life for yourself,\u2019\u201d Jean-Baptiste said. \u201cI think all the actions of the state recently have been the total opposite.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \u2018We need the support of all Americans\u2019<\/p>\n The deportation of Haitians from the U.S. would have broader international effects, Bernstein-Baker said, deepening economic hardship back in Haiti, where 43% of the population is already under the poverty line<\/a>, according to the most recent 2025 data from Statista.\n<\/p>\n \u201cOne reason [Haiti] is even surviving is that Haitian people here are sending money back home,\u201d\u00a0 Bernstein-Baker said. \u201cIt\u2019s the most effective foreign aid policy, and if they have to go back to Haiti, that\u2019s going to cut off a source of income for hundreds of thousands of people.\u201d\n<\/p>\n