The San Diego, CA-based Haitian Bridge Alliance (HBA) on Tuesday, Dec. 9, “unequivocally” condemned President Donald J. Trump’s latest barrage of anti-Black, anti-immigrant attacks, including his recent remarks referring to Somali immigrants as “garbage” and asserting that the US “does not want them in our country.”
“His rhetoric, reported widely in national media, is not simply insulting — it constitutes state-sanctioned dehumanization and reinforces a longstanding pattern of xenophobic and white-nationalist policymaking,” HBA Executive Director Guerline Jozef told Caribbean Life.
Trump, who has a history of disparaging Black people, particularly those from the African continent, last Tuesday, Dec. 2, unleashed verbal attacks on Somalis, characterizing them as “garbage” that he does not want in the US.
“These are people that do nothing but complain,” said Trump, as he neared the end of a Cabinet meeting at the White House. “When they come from hell, and they complain and do nothing but bitch, we don’t want them in our country.
“Let them go back to where they came from and fix it,” added the president, with Vice President JD Vance demonstrating agreement by banging on the table.
“We could go one way or the other, and we’re going to go the wrong way, if we keep taking in garbage into our country,” continued Trump, referring to Omar, a Minnesota Democratic Congresswoman, who migrated to the US as a refugee 25 years ago, as “garbage.”
“She’s garbage,” he stressed. “Her friends are garbage. These aren’t people who work. These aren’t people who say, ‘Let’s go, come on, let’s make this place great.’”
Jozef also denounced the Trump administration’s decision to pause all pending green-card applications for people from 19 countries, including Haiti.
“The list is overwhelmingly made up of African, Caribbean, Arab and Muslim nations,” she noted. “This mass suspension — impacting families who have lived in the United States for years, working, studying, and completing every legal requirement — amounts to collective punishment rooted in racial bias rather than legitimate national-security concerns.
“The decision further exposes the administration’s commitment to systematically excluding Black and Brown immigrants from the Global South,” she added.
Jozef said equally troubling is the administration’s “exploitation of a recent tragedy — the killing of two National Guard officers in Washington, DC — as a pretext for advancing an extreme, isolationist immigration agenda.
“Rather than pursuing justice for the victims, the administration has used this incident to justify broad and indiscriminate immigration crackdowns against millions of people who bear no connection to the event,” she said. “Haitian Bridge rejects this manipulation as both immoral and politically opportunistic.
“This cynical maneuver is part of a broader strategy to criminalize migrants, consolidate executive power, and dismantle asylum and immigration pathways for communities from the Global South,” Jozef added. What we are witnessing is not new — it is the continuation of a historical pattern in which US policy devalues Black lives domestically and internationally.
“Calling Somalis ‘garbage’ reflects a worldview that also cages Haitian children at the border, fast-tracks mass deportations, destabilizes economies through foreign policy, and then blames migrants for seeking refuge,” Jozef continued.
She noted that, in his first term, Trump had referred to Haiti and African nations as “shit hole countries.”
“This is structural, intentional, and violent,” Jozef said. “Haitian Bridge stands firmly with Somalis, Haitians, African, Muslims, and all Global South communities targeted by this escalating campaign of discrimination.
“We call on the United States Congress, civil rights organizations, and the international community to condemn these actions and work to reverse the green-card freeze,” she added. “We urge philanthropic partners to sustain and expand support for frontline immigrant justice organizations, especially those serving migrants from the Global South.
“Haitian Bridge remains committed to defending our communities through litigation, advocacy, direct services, and mobilization,” Jozef continued. “We will not allow racist rhetoric or xenophobic policy to define the lives, dignity, or future of the people we serve.”
Over the weekend, Democratic Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke also condemned what she described as Trump’s “racist attack” on Somalia-born Congresswoman Ilhan Omar and Somali immigrants in Minnesota.
“Between falling asleep in his own Cabinet meeting, President Trump somehow finds the time to launch hateful attacks against Congresswoman Ilhan Omar and Somali immigrants in Minnesota,” Clarke, the daughter of Jamaican immigrants, who represents the 9th Congressional District in Brooklyn, told Caribbean Life.
“If only President Trump put half as much energy into governing as he does into catching a nap and spreading hate, our country would be much better off,” added Clarke, chair of the Congressional Black Caucus.
“Rather than focusing on lowering the cost of living for hardworking American families, ensuring that all Americans have access to quality and affordable healthcare, and bringing our country together, President Trump has once again turned to the same racist and ignorant strategy of targeting Black and immigrant communities to distract from his enormous failures and historically low poll numbers on health care and the economy,” she continued.
“From the recently leaked texts of Republican officials using the n-word and praising Hitler to President Trump’s comments in the Cabinet Room, it’s beyond clear that the Republican Party’s racism truly knows no bounds,” she said. “To be clear, since coming to Congress in 2019, Congresswoman Omar has worked tirelessly to improve the lives of her constituents. She — nor any member of Congress, or any community — deserves to be targeted by the president this way.
Clarke further described Trump’s comments as “disgusting and pathetic,” lamenting that, “unfortunately, it seems that few, if any, Republicans have the spine to say enough is enough.”
Soon after his Cabinet meeting, Omar posted on social media that Trump’s “obsession with me is creepy.
“I hope he gets the help he desperately needs,” she added.
In an email message to her constituents on Friday, the Minnesota Congresswoman acknowledged that: “This week has been tough for a lot of people in our community.
“The Trump administration’s policies are targeting Somalis in Minnesota and across the country, trying to end Temporary Protected Status and sending ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) agents into our neighborhoods,” she added. “The policies that sent ICE into Minnesota is meant to scare people and make immigrants feel like they do not belong here.
“It is painful to see that the president’s policies are focused on punishing and blaming people who are simply trying to work, raise their kids, and be part of their community,” Omar continued. “But the truth is that Somalis are part of the fabric of this state. We are business owners, working professionals, parents, students, and neighbors.
“We help build our economy and make Minnesota a better, more vibrant place to live,” she said. “Minnesota is our home, and we are not going anywhere.”
Caribbean immigration advocates and Clarke have strongly condemned the Trump administration’s immediate, indefinite “administrative hold” on all processing of immigration paperwork by immigrants from 19 countries, including Somalia and Haiti, which it placed under a travel ban in June 2025.
Besides those two countries, the other 17 non-European countries include Afghanistan, Burma, Burundi, Chad, Cuba, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Iran, Laos, Libya, Republic of the Congo, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Togo, Turkmenistan, Venezuela and Yemen.
All 19 countries, which have either partial or full travel restrictions, have been deemed of concern to the administration.
The New York Immigration Coalition (NYIC), an umbrella policy and advocacy organization that represents over 200 immigrant and refugee rights groups throughout New York, said the pause suspends green card applications and US citizenship requests, prevents refugees and some others from getting or renewing work authorization, and stops individuals from getting protection for torture and persecution by indefinitely pausing asylum applications.
“Every individual from each country will need an individual review of their case file to move forward,” NYIC President and CEO Murad Awawdeh told Caribbean Life, stating that the “administrative hold” also halts the completion of citizenship ceremonies for legal US permanent residents from those 19 countries, delaying their path to becoming naturalized American citizens.
“An indefinite pause is a ban, plain and simple,” he added. “The Trump administration is using the recent shooting in DC (Washington) as a pretext for a dangerous escalation of its attacks on immigrants that are rooted in racism and xenophobia.”
Awawdeh said many of the immigrants affected by these policy changes have already undergone extensive vetting, “often taking years, after having arrived in America seeking security, stability, and the opportunity to rebuild their lives.
“Their futures are now in chaos,” he lamented. “People at every stage of the immigration process are already having their lives disrupted, including those who are just one ceremony away from becoming US citizens.
“The actions are despicable and do nothing more than push our immigrant neighbors into the margins,” Awawdeh added. “We urge members of Congress to condemn the Trump administration’s actions and call on the Trump administration to reverse course.”
Clarke also told Caribbean Life that the administration’s decision to freeze green-card and naturalization applications for people from the 19 countries is “an outrageous and discriminatory overreach that undermines our values and endangers the lives and futures of countless families.
“Instead of responding to a single, tragic incident with facts and restraint, the administration has chosen once again to scapegoat immigrants — especially those from predominantly Black, brown, Muslim, and other marginalized nations,” she said.
“We have seen this before,” she added. “We saw it with the Muslim Ban, a policy rooted not in national security but in xenophobia and fearmongering.
“Today’s action is a continuation of that same shameful agenda,” Clarke continued. “This policy will trigger fear and despair among immigrants who have already endured years of vetting, only now to be told their hopes of citizenship and full participation in this country are suddenly on hold.”
The congresswoman noted that due process, individualized review and evidence-based policy are “the cornerstones of a credible national security strategy — not political opportunism.
“Punishing entire populations for the actions of one person is not only unjust — it is un-American,” Clarke said. “Immigrants from nations across Africa, the Caribbean, the Middle East and beyond are part of the very fabric of American life — contributing immeasurably to our economy, neighborhoods, and our country’s vitality. They deserve fairness, dignity, and a government that treats them as human beings rather than political pawns.
“I stand firmly with immigrant families, asylum seekers, and all those who came to America in search of liberty and opportunity,” she added, urging the Trump administration to “reverse this reckless and unjust suspension immediately.
“I will continue fighting alongside my colleagues to ensure that our laws reflect our values — not fear, bias, or political manipulation,” Clarke added. “Immigration should not be weaponized. Citizenship should not be suspended based on birth or nationality. Our nation is better than this.”
Last week, US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) posted a policy memorandum in which it directed its personnel to “place a hold on all Forms I-589 (Application for Asylum and for Withholding of Removal), regardless of the alien’s country of nationality, pending a comprehensive review.”
It also directed its personnel to “place a hold on pending benefit requests for aliens from countries listed in Presidential Proclamation (PP) 10949, Restricting the Entry of Foreign Nationals To Protect the United States From Foreign Terrorists and Other National Security and Public Safety Threats, pending a comprehensive review, regardless of entry date ; and conduct a comprehensive re-review of approved benefit requests for aliens from countries listed in PP 10949 who entered the United States on or after January 20, 2021.”
USCIS said the memorandum “mandates that all aliens meeting these criteria undergo a thorough re-review process, including a potential interview and, if necessary, a re-interview, to fully assess all national security and public safety threats along with any other related grounds of inadmissibility or ineligibility.
“An individualized, case-by-case review and assessment will be done of all relevant information and facts,” it added, stating that it will also conduct “a comprehensive review of all relevant policies, procedures, and operational guidance for compliance, accuracy and needed improvements during this time.
“This guidance outlines the adjudicative hold, procedural requirements, and processes for the re-review, interview, or re-interview of affected aliens,” continued USCIS, stating that “personnel are instructed to prioritize national security and public safety concerns and ensure compliance with all applicable laws and regulations during the adjudication process.”
USCIS noted that, on Jan. 20, 2025, Trump issued Executive Order (EO) 14161, titled Protecting the United States from Foreign Terrorist and Other National Security and Public Safety Threats, which “aims to safeguard US citizens from aliens who may seek to commit terrorist acts, pose threats to national security, promote hateful ideologies, or exploit immigration laws for malicious purposes.
“EO 14161 underscores the importance of vigilance during the visa issuance process to ensure that individuals approved for admission into the United States do not intend to harm Americans or compromise US national interests,” USCIS said.
“Recently, the United States has seen what a lack of screening, vetting, and prioritizing expedient adjudications can do to the American people,” it added, noting that an Afghan national, Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi, “planned a terrorist attack in the United States on Election Day 2024.”
USCIS said Tawhedi pled guilty in federal court to conspiring and attempting to provide material support and resources to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS).
In another instance, USCIS said an Afghan national, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, is “suspected of planning and executing a terrorist attack in Washington, DC against two National Guard members, one who was killed and another who remains critically injured.
“In light of identified concerns and the threat to the American people, USCIS has determined that a comprehensive re-review, potential interview, and re-interview of all aliens from high-risk countries of concern who entered the United States on or after January 20, 2021 is necessary,” the memo said.
It also said “USCIS may, when appropriate, extend this review and re-interview process to aliens who entered the United States outside of this timeframe.”
Awawdeh said the Trump administration’s latest announcements are “part of an ongoing campaign to attack immigrants’ legal status and dismantle lawful pathways to safety.
“These cruel actions reflect a strategy to put increasing numbers of people on a direct path toward deportation, no matter the cost to our families, communities, or economy,” he said.
In a White House Proclamation, on Jun. 4, 2025, Trump said he was “restricting the entry of foreign nationals to protect the United States from foreign terrorists and other national security and public safety threats.”
At the time, Trump said he had “determined to fully restrict and limit the entry” of nationals from 12 countries including Haiti, Afghanistan, Burma, Iran and Libya, and primarily from African countries — Chad, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.
The US President also said he had “determined to partially restrict and limit the entry of nationals” from seven other countries: Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela.
