Reunited Family Faces Uncertain Future Amid Immigration Policy Changes

Wed Nov 26 2025 10:59:16 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

A heartwarming reunion of a Haitian family in Florida is overshadowed by the impending expiration of Temporary Protected Status, putting their future at risk as US immigration policies shift.

After a decade apart, Marven has reunited with his sister Rochelle and mother Guerline in Florida, celebrating his 16th birthday together. However, their joy is marred by the looming threat of deportation as their Temporary Protected Status (TPS) is set to expire. With increasing violence in Haiti and a potential end to TPS for 350,000 Haitians, the family's future hangs in the balance, calling attention to the complexities of US immigration policies and the challenges faced by those fleeing humanitarian crises.

In a waterside house in the town of Lakeland, Florida, Marven laughs with two women he loves dearly - his sister Rochelle and their biological mother, Guerline.

The warmth between them is unmistakable as they celebrate his 16th birthday, even though they spent a decade apart. Now they fear being separated again.

Also celebrating is Stacey Nageli Angulo, who adopted Marven when he was three years old, from Haiti, in the wake of a devastating earthquake in 2010.

She helped Guerline and Rochelle come to the US three years ago, reuniting the family, as spreading gang violence triggered a fresh humanitarian crisis in the Caribbean island nation.

The two Haitian women, whose names we have changed for their safety, live and work legally in the US under a scheme called Temporary Protected Status (TPS). It provides protection for people already in the US who are from countries hit by war or natural disaster.

But TPS is due to end for 350,000 Haitians in February, as part of US President Donald Trump's sweeping changes to immigration policies.

Rochelle, now aged 21, cheers, as Marven blows out his candles, but Guerline's smile falters. In just a few months, the two women could be deported.

After the earthquake, Guerline lived in Haiti's capital Port-au-Prince, struggling to provide for her children. She says offering Marven for adoption scarred her, but she wanted a better life for him.

Stacey, who now renovates properties after a career in the corporate world, says she felt compelled to adopt a child from Haiti in the aftermath of the disaster and raised Marven alongside her two biological children.

More recently, hearing about the violence, she began researching legal routes to the US for Rochelle and Guerline. When a humanitarian scheme opened in 2023, they applied immediately. Three weeks later they were approved and on an airplane and here with us, she says.

The two Haitian women moved into a caravan on Stacey's driveway, before renting an apartment locally. Guerline now works in a hotel. Rochelle has jobs at a supermarket and a nursery, and dreams of becoming a nurse.

Marven often sleeps over at their apartment and loves the Haitian food Guerline cooks. He says his life now feels more complete.

But Rochelle and Guerline are terrified of returning to Haiti. The gang violence has displaced a tenth of the population, according to the UN, with kidnappings and killings rising sharply. Rape and arson are rampant.

Stacey voted for President Trump in the past three presidential elections but is now horrified that Rochelle and Guerline could be sent back.

Do we want open borders? Absolutely not. Do we want criminals deported? Absolutely, she says. But to rip families apart like ours and deport people to countries where it's absolutely unsafe… is unthinkable and unconscionable.

Now, as TPS for Haitians faces expiration, the worry of separation looms over the family. As they navigate the challenges ahead, their story sheds light on the intersection of humanitarian rights and immigration policy in the United States.