MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – A Haitian national was brought back to the United States after her attorney says she was unfairly deported.
There was a happy dance — and a happy hug at Miami International Airport.
“I’m just overjoyed,” attorney Lana Joseph said.
It’s a welcome back that Joseph says never should have happened.
“You cannot wrongfully deport someone who is here legally,” Joseph said.
Joseph says her client, Ermita Obtenu, came into the United States from Haiti last November. Obtenu was authorized to travel under the Humanitarian Parole Program.
“USCIS — ICE — CBP — they all had access to her file. They reviewed it. They knew,” Joseph explained.
But despite being authorized to enter the country, Obtenu was detained due to a prior removal order.
In June, ongoing unrest in Haiti prompted the Biden administration to extend Temporary Protected Status to hundreds of thousands of Haitian nationals in the United States — something Obtenu’s lawyer says she was also eligible for. Less than a month later, though, Obtenu was deported back to Haiti.
“That is a miscarriage of justice,” said Joseph.
In Creole, Ermita says she felt like a prisoner in Haiti, trapped inside amid violence on the streets. Through an interpreter, she says her lawyer told her not to unpack.
“And after I sent emails, after emails, they responded, they reviewed her case. They looked into her case and realized, ‘Oops. We made a mistake,’” Joseph added.
Local 10 News was there as Ermita arrived at MIA — something she says she didn’t think would happen.
She says she’s happy and grateful.
“The fight must continue. Because this must never, ever happen to anyone else,” Joseph said.