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The ramifications of the Trump administration’s travel ban on 12 Black and brown countries have been swift, including in Haiti, where the lives of sick children hang in the balance.
The International Cardiac Alliance, which has sent more than 100 Haitian children with serious cardiac conditions to the United States for heart surgery, tells NBC News that Trump’s ban, which went into effect on Monday, will stall or cancel lifesaving procedures for at least a dozen children or young adults.
Haiti is among the list of mostly African or Middle Eastern countries whose nationals have been banned from entering the U.S. The administration cites national security concerns and counterterrorism as reasons for the travel ban, which, in addition to Haiti, includes Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen.
While there are some exceptions to the administration’s travel ban, such as lawful permanent U.S. residents and those traveling to the U.S. for the World Cup and the Olympics, there is no such exception for those seeking medical treatment.
International Cardiac Alliance Executive Director Owen Robinson told NBC News that the organization has a waitlist of at least 316 people who need heart surgery. While some can afford to wait some months, others will “pass away very quickly.” Robinson said children die every week simply because there aren’t enough international slots for them to receive surgical procedures in the U.S., Dominican Republic, and Cayman Islands.
Typically, the children in the program travel to the U.S. for their surgeries and return to Haiti. However, the logistics can be complicated as patients and their parents have to apply for visas to the U.S. The new Trump travel ban has now halted that process as an option.
President Trump’s proclamation of the ban allows Secretary of State Marco Rubio to issue visa exemptions in cases that serve a United States national interest. It is unclear if families supported by the International Cardiac Alliance would fit that criterion.
Haiti is currently embroiled in a crisis as gangs have taken over the country following the 2021 assassination of its president, Jovenel Mose, and subsequent murders and violence. The country, which has experienced several catastrophic earthquakes in the last 15 years, has also suffered from chronic poverty. Given its current state, doctors are unable to travel to Haiti safely; therefore, the work of ICA is critical in helping to save the lives of hundreds of Haitian children.
According to NBC News, many children in impoverished countries suffer from Fabiennes condition. The condition typically forms after they are not seen by a doctor and treated for strep throat. While the common illness is treatable, if it is not properly treated, it can lead to recurring strep infections that lead to rheumatic heart disease. The permanent heart disease often requires surgery to repair the heart valve.
Trump’s travel ban, an escalation of his previous bans in 2017 and 2020, was swiftly condemned by Democratic members of Congress and immigrant rights advocates.
This is not about national security this is about systemic racism, xenophobia, and the criminalization of Black, Brown, and Muslim people globally,” said Guerline Jozef, founder and executive director of Haitian Bridge Alliance. “Once again, U.S. 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.
Jozef added, “This is the same administration that is actively taking away legal status and accelerating the kidnapping and deportations of Black, brown and immigrants who don’t fit their agenda only to import the so-called White ‘refugees’ from South Africa under the false claim of genocide.
