Rockland Resident Deported At 3AM

SPRING VALLEY, NY — A Rockland County resident who had been saved Jan. 18 from illegal deportation to Haiti, where he has never been, was unexpectedly deported there overnight Wednesday by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Freshman Rep. Mondaire Jones, who had intervened last month to prevent Rockland County resident Paul Pierrilus from being deported to Haiti, where his parents were born but where he is not a citizen, said he learned about the overnight move in a 3 a.m. phone call.

"Suddenly, and in the dead of night, ICE was set to unlawfully deport Rockland County’s beloved Paul Pierrilus. And there was nothing we could do to stop it," Jones said in a statement to the news media.

Pierrilus, a financial consultant who lives in Spring Valley, immigrated to the United States at the age of 5.

Pierrilus was born in the French territory of St. Martin, which does not extend birthright citizenship. Although his parents were formerly Haitian citizens, Pierrilus is not a citizen of Haiti nor has he been to the country.

He has been under an order of supervision since 2006; and, following procedure, he checked in at the ICE New York City Field Office Jan. 11, according to news reports. He was taken into custody.

Last time, Pierrilus — protesting that he couldn't be sent to Haiti because he was not a citizen of the island nation — was walked to the plane in shackles, then pulled away at the last minute after Jones' staff found the Department of Homeland Security had not approved travel documents.

This time he was deported, part of a recent wave of people of color disproportionately targeted "by our racist, inhumane immigration system, particularly in recent weeks," Jones said. "ICE is a rogue agency. With the help of right-wing operatives on the federal bench, ICE is choosing to ignore President Biden’s deportation moratorium."

A federal judge on Jan. 26 barred enforcement of the Biden Administration's new 100-day moratorium on deportations after Texas Republicans sued, the Associated Press reported.

"ICE must be brought to heel. Our community is tired of watching our family members, our friends, and our neighbors ripped from their homes," Jones said. "Paul should be with his family at his home in Rockland County. I will not rest until he is, and until we have built a humane, just immigration system. In the meantime, I am keeping Paul and his family in my prayers and my team will continue to monitor the situation and fight for Paul’s return."