Fear and uncertainty grip Haitian workers in Texas meatpacking plants amid immigration crackdown

In the quiet town of Cactus, Texas, Haitian migrants like Nicole and Idaneau Mintor are facing a new wave of fear and uncertainty. Both work long hours at the JBS meatpacking plant—home to 3,700 workers, many of them immigrants—debating whether the American dream they chased is now slipping away.

Nicole, who arrived through the CBP One program last November, says she was drawn to the region for its job opportunities and higher wages. She earns more than $20 an hour deboning cattle—money she could never have hoped to make in Haiti. But earlier this month, she received a message warning her to leave the U.S. within seven days or face deportation or fines.

“They would consider going back to Haiti,” she said in Haitian Creole. “But the country is in a bad situation right now. You can't make a decision. You have no idea what to do.”

The Biden-era immigration parole program allowed hundreds of thousands from Haiti, Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela to enter legally. But recent actions under Donald Trump’s renewed crackdown have thrown those protections into question. Although a federal judge has temporarily blocked enforcement of deportation notices, many like Nicole still live in fear of losing their jobs, homes, and work permits.

“I don’t steal. I pay my bills. I respect the laws,” said Mintor. “But they are planning to take away my work permit.”

For these workers, the uncertainty is not just legal—it's existential. With no clear path forward and no safe way back, their futures hang in limbo.