 Even in the middle of the pandemic, the United States is still detaining and deporting immigrants from minor infractions. The 45th President has tried to roll back protections for DACA, TPS, and the Deferred Department of Enforcement for Librarians. If deportations continued, they would overwhelm health care systems in the U.S. and abroad. The world has always been watching the protests in the United States over the deaths of black and brown people at the hands of police. So how are these issues connected? Well, for these populations, run-ins with the law often mean deportation, detainment, or death. I spoke with Pastor Dierfault-Flois and Pastor Jean-Claude Saino, two Haitian activists in the Boston area, to get their thoughts on the issues facing black, brown, and immigrant populations. Here's what they had to say. As you know, since last year, they had rumors that ICE agents are posting throughout the big cities to re-hand undocumented. So that really brings a lot of fear to the immigrant communities. Many members in my church are not permanent residents or the citizens. I have a lot of undocumented in my church, and also lots of undocumented families with the Haitian community. And knowing that's the fear they are going through on a daily basis when going out to do any chores, even to come to church. Members are afraid to get out, even just to get out to the food pantry to collect food for the household. So the fear is so great among immigrants right now. Personally, I just got a member, a young member of my church, 24-year-old. He was 23 when he was apprehended by ICE while going to court for a civil matter. And then he's been apprehended for a year and a half. Thank God, so he was released. But many other members of the Haitian community have been apprehended by ICE because of the policy that the police was sharing information with ICE agents. When an immigrant is apprehended by ICE, usually there is no due process. The pattern of hood and security has so much authority right now over immigrants. It depends how many years they have been living in the country. If they're here for less than two years, they can be put right away into jail and then shipped to all the states because that's what's been happening. They don't keep them in one state. They ship them to all the states just to be deported immediately. So that this is the fate basically for immigrants out there that have been apprehended by ICE. This community's act is so crucial and so important for our community. That act basically will prohibit local policies from collaborating on the civil matters with ICE agents. If it's criminal, we can't do anything about it. We know that's criminal. We don't tolerate anything criminal. So we agree that's criminal. Yes. But in terms of civil matters, somebody committed a civil infraction. So that person must be free to go to court and seek for justice, especially also we have women or men or men. Both can be abused by their companions, by their wives, by their husbands or by just anybody that is close to them being abused will not be afraid to call the police for help, for support. So that's what is so important and so crucial for me to draw support for the Safe Communities Act bill, which is not law yet, but we are praying, we are moving forward to do that. The Work and Family Mobility Act is another very important bill that has been filed since January 2019. As you know, the latest stats, we had almost 255,000 families, definitely without immigration status. They could be targeted because they're driving without a license and they could stop and then they could definitely be apprehended by ICE agents. As you know, driving is a privilege, basically, but not everyone has that privilege. And also driving is freedom for most people because of gentrification. The cities that had the most transportation opportunities are so expensive. The immigrant families can't really pay, they have to go outside of the big cities. And you know, outside of big cities, they are not adequate transportation. Without that opportunity, they can't definitely make ends meet, they can't take care of their families, they can't find the work, the job they are looking for. That creates a whole nightmare for those families. So the Driving My Family Forward bill, which is the Work and Family Mobility Act, would definitely serve the purpose of helping immigrants immigrated and also helping families moving forward, financially, socially, and economically, and I believe that's what is so important, basically, for this bill just to be passed, right now they are extremely positive at seeing this bill come in a reality. The statistics approved close to, it started with 35,000 to almost 55,000 individual taxpayer identifications that are working in the states, also paying their taxes. But the fact that they don't have immigration status, they are not eligible for any state or federal relief nowadays. Those families are suffering. They can't go to work because they're working at jobs because of their illegal status. They can't definitely find good jobs because they're doing odd jobs and those jobs are closed due to COVID-19 and these families still file their taxes and pay their taxes and they are not eligible for the stimulus. Many Haitian families find themselves in this predicament. Knowing that those families are really suffering because they are not eligible for stimulus. They are not eligible for unemployment assistance. They are not eligible for the pandemic unemployment assistance. They are not eligible for anything because of their immigration status. So the Haitian bill that we are pushing will definitely alleviate the burden of those families. They can become eligible for the $1,200 individual and $2,400 also for joint filers and at the same time also be eligible to receive a $500 for their children under age 17. That will definitely alleviate the burden of those families if the Haitian bills could become law because many people right now are suffering. The criminal justice system has long been used to punish black bodies. With increased immigration from countries with people of African descent, these new populations often get tangled in America's racial web. It's an issue which is very concerning and it's deep into my heart because as an immigrant who ever arrived here in this country, I have lived them so therefore I can understand them and I can sympathize with them. Language barriers is probably one of the greatest harm that's always been done to the immigrant community because language barriers block a lot of doors, a lot of access. And aside from that, there's also coming from third world countries. Culturally speaking, there has been certain things that we have been impacted by in our homelands and we are kind of afraid to break these barriers. No understanding that they have rights from where they came from. So up on the arrival here also in this country, they are afraid of exercising that right. So there's a little bit of trauma from what we came from and having to be a culture to a new platform, a new culture. So there's a total amount of requirements, adjustment, knowing, learning and so on and so forth. So these are all the things that we are facing. For instance, you understand how people from third world countries seize police offices. It's a different concept totally. Even though right now they said it to be coming on just like the other third world countries police in the United States. Immigrant community also looking at the perspective of what is happening with the African American here and this country. If they are the natives who were born here and are being treated that way. So they don't understand that they are also entitled to have just the same basic right. Do you understand what I'm saying? If a system is killing and destroying its own people, it makes the immigrant community scarier. I think the whole concept of George Floyd needs to make all of us understand of all the biases, the discriminations with all the victims included, including the one that we're talking about right now. The immigrant community being suffering. We don't need just to solve the issue based only on the murder of Floyds, but all the Floyds. That ran down to the pipeline. Starting with the immigrants and all the way up to the natives who have been born in here. So if we're going to fix it, we're going to have to fix the ill of our society. Not the ill of only the shooting of black men and black women or the black young boys and the black young girls. But it's all the discrimination factors that everybody has been suffering for the longest. Okay. Like I said, it's not a plantations. If you take Boston in itself, where there's a bit majority of people of color, okay, both black and browns. How is it in the world that you are only sending the young white man's into the areas all the time. You don't do it into the white areas, right. The white neighborhoods, you see mostly white cops, right. But why is it that the black neighborhoods what you see is a bunch of young white men who thinks that they are in the plantations. They are there to God, they are there to chase and so on. There is a real education that needs to be done. There is also cultural competency that needs to be done. Because this is not a plantation. So you've got to know the demographics. You've got to understand the culture. You've got to get involved inside of that culture so that you can help with the repair of it. Okay. Because you understand that things that are suffering from also blacks from blacks. In other words, you're not from here. You are an immigrant. You're both people. Why do you wear your clothes this way? Do you understand what I'm saying? So if we're going to eliminate all the bad things out of us, we're going to have to do a good disinfectant of this whole mental frame of the way we treat each other. So therefore, it will take legislature is one, but it will also take a change of heart. To really get the swarms off. The other thing I think that needs to be done between the police department and the community is to hear the dialogue is to sit down and it's to talk is to harsh things out. Okay. Number one, we got to speak about the truth. We got to have that uncomfortable conversations. And it's not supposed to be nothing as supposed to be going under the rug anymore. Let's bring it up to the surface. Okay. If we sit down and we have that conversation and one on one, there should be more community forms. Whereas we are debating and discussing the relationship and you could tell based on all demonstration that was going on all the protest that was going on, wherever the police comes into how many with the protesters things went. It was joy in the heart of all the young people. They would like to kiss them hold them hug them and so on so forth. Why couldn't it be a pattern for all the rest of them. If this is a good way to solve the issue. What are the rest of them do. But unfortunately, the amount of hatred that's in their heart is bigger than them. And defend the police right now and investing more into those communities while being suffering. I think it's a necessity. Because it will certainly uproots some of the eels that have happened, but it will also bring them back into the fall. I would put more pressure on the politicians to do good by us, because we elect them to do so. And as someone who's run for public office, I could never see me and not seeing my constituents first. In other words, every single decisions of mine should certainly be heartfelt with the constituents, because that's who you are. You are being elected to be a master. You are being elected to be a servant. As young people, we're always wondering, what can we do? We donate to a few GoFundMe's, but how can we bring systematic solutions to systemic problems? The thing is, we don't have to reinvent the wheel. Young people from SNCC, the ANC and so much more have left a long tradition of radical thought. Let's read our way to a revolution. Social justice is extremely vital nowadays. We've seen what took place several weeks ago in Georgia and Minneapolis, again in Atlanta, against very recently San Francisco, California. So the need right now for social justice is extremely crucial and expeditious. And the reason I said that is the fact that older generation we are passing by, and the baton should definitely be passing by to a younger generation to see that. Especially Haitian Americans that are born in this country, it's always a struggle for Black, Latino and Brown communities to definitely just find the justice they are looking for. What's giving me hope is young people like you. What's giving me hope is passing the legacy on to you. What's giving me hope is that you guys are finally waking up and you are waking up for good. Okay, you want to see a better world. And we as the adult also must do our best, the diligence of living it better than what we have found. That's my hope. So we need the young people to get engaged, be involved and knowing that they have to carry through, because it's always a struggle that will never stop right there. And we've seen it again. I've seen that taking place with so many young people right now on the streets protesting, advocating for justice to prevail. And this is what we need the young people just to join us in this fight because we are passing by. We are getting tired. As you know, just organizing is exhausting. Okay, so therefore we need no blood to come in and take that baton. So my organization to Alliance Center always looking for volunteers. The Haitian American United incorporated always looking for volunteers. So we need the young people to join us. When you are in the community, trying to take part, be a part of it. Be a part of the activities. Don't leave like a total stranger and you know, show some love because that's the only solution at the end of the day to the human suffering.