SAN DIEGO, United States — A Haitian community group has strongly condemned United States (US) President-elect Donald Trump’s reported plans to declare a national emergency to enact a mass deportation programme, involving Haitian immigrants.

“Such a proposal represents an alarming threat to human rights, the rule of law, specifically those seeking asylum and safety,” said Executive Director Guerline Jozef, applauding the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) for filing a lawsuit to gather specific details from the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency on how Trump will carry out his plan.

According to reports, the proposed programme would target undocumented immigrants.

Jozef says such a plan would facilitate “an unprecedented wave of detentions and deportations that would disproportionately impact Black and brown immigrants”.

“This plan risks further marginalising vulnerable populations including Haitian migrants, many of whom fled severe insecurity, gang violence and humanitarian crises in search of safety and stability in the United States,” she said.

“Mass deportations under the guise of a ‘national emergency’ are not only cruel but also a blatant abuse of power,” Jozef added. “This is yet another tactic to dehumanise immigrants and perpetuate racism.”

She said the Haitian Bridge Alliance has called on all policymakers, advocates and community leaders to stand in solidarity against “these dangerous proposals”.

“We urge the incoming administration, Congress, and the American public to resist efforts to normalise xenophobic policies under the pretext of national security,” Jozef said. “We further call on the Congress to overrule Trump’s proposal by passing a joint resolution out of the House and Senate.”

Last week, immigration advocates in New York expressed outrage and alarm over proposed plans by the incoming Trump administration to revoke a United States federal policy that has restricted ICE agents from arresting Caribbean and other immigrants at or near “sensitive locations”, such as houses of worship, schools and hospitals without prior approval from supervisors.

Immigration advocates said Trump is expected to repeal this policy as early as his first day in office on January 20, 2025, alongside a series of other immigration policy changes set to be implemented.