Paul Pierrilus, the Rockland County man deported to Haiti even though he is not a Haitian citizen, has hit yet another wall in his attempt to return to the U.S., where he had lived since he was 5 years old.
Pierrilus’ application for humanitarian parole was recently denied.
His last likely pathway home: a presidential pardon.
Pierrilus and his team see precedent. After all, President Joe Biden pardoned his own son, Hunter Biden, for actions that the family has long maintained are part of a drug-scarred past.
Pierrilus’ deportation appears to be linked to a drug offense more than 20 years ago.
“I am asking for the same empathy and care to allow me to benefit from my pardon and to live in safety and dignity,” said Pierrilus in a message to the USA Today Network.
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Pierrilus pointed to Biden’s oft-cited belief in redemption and fairness. The president expressed compassion for his own son, Pierrilus said. Pierrilus, a 43-year-old financial planner, is someone’s son and brother, too.
Pierrilus’ efforts have been supported by Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights, the National Immigrant Justice Center and the Haitian Bridge Alliance, as well as his family and home church, the French Speaking Baptist Church of Spring Valley.
“The Biden admin through (U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro) Mayorkas at any time could grant humanitarian parole to this person,” said Sarah Decker of Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights. “The issue is the will of them to actually do that.”
Deportation to Haiti, and efforts to return home
Pierrilus is literally a man without a country.
He was born in Saint Martin, a French territory in the Leeward Islands. He wasn’t automatically a citizen because his parents weren’t French nationals, but were citizens of Haiti at the time. He did not automatically inherit Haitian citizenship through his parents.
Meet Paul Pierrilus: New York man deported to Haiti, though he’s not a Haitian citizen, tells his story
His family settled in Spring Valley, which has the second-largest Haitian population, per capita, in the U.S. His parents eventually earned U.S. citizenship.
In 2003, Pierrilus plead guilty to a drug charge and was given a stint in a minimum security “boot camp” that focuses on treatment and skill-building. Pierrilus went to college and became a financial consultant.
Paul Pierrilus in an undated photo around Christimastime in the family’s home in Spring Valley.
Meanwhile, he remained under supervision from U.S. Immigration and checked in periodically. His file contained documentation from both the French and Haitian governments that confirmed he was not a national of either country.
In January 2021, during what appeared to be a routine check-in at the ICE field office in Federal Plaza in New York City, Pierrilus was taken into custody. On Jan. 19, in the dwindling hours of the Trump administration, Pierrilus was walked toward a plane at JFK before being led away on the tarmac, with no explanation, and sent back to a holding facility in Louisiana.
Weeks later, on Feb. 2, with Biden now in the White House, Pierrilus was loaded onto a deportation plane headed to Haiti.
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Hochul pardoned Pierrilus on long-ago drug conviction
In May of this year, Gov. Kathy Hochul granted Pierrilus a pardon for the 2003 conviction, citing his good works after what has been described as a one-time mistake for which he took responsibility and served his time.
His case has gotten support from various elected officials, including direct contact with federal officials on Pierrilus’ behalf.
“Congressman Lawler and our office stand ready, willing, and able to assist in Paul’s case,” said Nate Soule, spokesman for U.S. Rep. Mike Lawler, R-Pearl River.
Lawler and the RFK Human Rights team have had some contact but it appears meetings have not recently progressed. Soule said Lawler endeavors to “fix our broken immigration system,” pointing to his work on the proposed DIGNITY Act and support for H.R. 2, the Secure the Border Act.
U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-NY, has made several inquiries with federal authorities on behalf of Pierrilus, Gillibrand spokesman Evan Lukaske said. “Our office will continue to explore options to remedy this unfair situation.”
A message from man in hiding
Pierrilus was sent by the U.S. to a country in the throes of chaos. The U.S. State Department has had a Level 4 “Do Not Travel” advisory the entire time Pierrilus has been exiled there. He speaks very limited Haitian Creole and no French.
Paul Pierrilus of Spring Valley was nearly deported to Haiti in January 2021, even though he is not a Haitian citizen and has never been to the country.
Pierrilus, in communications with the USA Today Network, called his deportation “both cruel and inhumane.”
“I’ve dodged gunfire multiple times, my home was burned down in an arson attack, and I’ve had neighbors that were both kidnapped and murdered,” Pierrilus said.
He had previously told the USA Today Network that he remains inside most of the time, because as a clearly Americanized person, he is a kidnap target. He’s had to relocate several times, moving on when the nightly gunfire draws near.
“This isn’t just exile,” he said. “It’s a death sentence.”
Pierrilus, who said he always followed the financial advice he gave to clients and then some, has gone through extensive savings, nearly four years in, and now scrimps by with support from friends and family in the U.S.
Decker, staff attorney for U.S. advocacy & litigation with Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights, said there really aren’t mechanisms to appeal a humanitarian parole denial. But Pierrilus’ legal team is trying to find a pathway.
“It is an unusual and pretty rare form of relief,” Decker said. “But we think Paul warrants it.”
What happens when Trump takes office
Pierrilus’ deportation started during the Trump administration. But it was finished under Biden.
Still, the rhetoric that Trump espoused during the campaign and after, including plans for large-scale deportations, and the end to programs like Temporary Protected Status that have helped Haitians establish themselves in the U.S., do not harken well for Pierrilus’ chances, Decker said.
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“What we know the incoming administration has planned, it seems the window is ever narrowing,” Decker said. “It seems like now is the only chance for next four years.”
But, she said, “We will continue to pursue that in this new administration.”
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: NY man Paul Pierrilus deported to Haiti seeks pardon like Hunter Biden