After nearly three decades living in Miami, Edrisse Michelin now wakes up in Haiti, a country he hasn’t called home since he was three years old.
Michelin, now 32, moved from Haiti to South Florida with his family as a toddler. He was raised in Miami, graduated from South Ridge High School, and studied at Miami Dade College. He built a stable life as a licensed realtor and insurance broker and lived in the United States as a permanent resident.
That changed in 2020, when he was convicted of fraudulently obtaining a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan during the COVID-19 pandemic. Michelin served 25 months in federal prison, then nine more in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Earlier this month, he was deported to Haiti on a removal flight carrying about 120 people.
“I still don’t feel like I’m home,” he said from Haiti. “I still feel like I’m just roaming. I feel uneasy.”
Michelin described the deportation flight as physically and emotionally punishing. “Your feet are shackled together, your ankles are getting cut up, your hands are shackled together,” he said. Passengers were instructed on emergency safety protocols, but Michelin questioned how they would respond in those conditions. “How are we gonna do that?”
When the plane landed in Cap-Haïtien, he and other deportees were handed $100 and released to any waiting relatives. His wife, Iyamille Michelin, a U.S. citizen, was there to meet him.
The couple has since traveled across the country, from Cap-Haïtien to Port-au-Prince by helicopter, then on by bus to Petit-Goâve, where some of his extended family lives. “There’s people that left only two, three years ago that are afraid to come here, and she’s here,” he said of his wife.
They’ve been walking the streets, trying to process their new reality in a country grappling with ongoing hardship and instability. While Michelin said he respects the strength of the Haitian people, he also acknowledged the country’s limited infrastructure and opportunities, especially for returnees like him.
“They’re trying to overcome obstacles, and I’m here trying to overcome obstacles as well,” he said. “They haven’t quite fully understood how to overcome these obstacles, and they’ve been living here their whole life.”
His concerns reach beyond his personal situation. More than 330,000 Haitians currently live in the U.S. under Temporary Protected Status (TPS), which is scheduled to expire on February 3. Without other legal options, many may face deportation.
“What I’m concerned about with so many people coming — it’s very limited here,” he said. “If you’re gonna be dropping tens of thousands of people in one location… there’s bandits blocking the road in certain areas.”
Although he was born in Haiti, he said he struggles with daily life and communication. “I speak a little bit of Creole and I’m struggling,” he said. “I’m not gonna lie to you. I’m struggling.”
The couple, who share eight children between them, have turned to social media to document their experience. On Instagram, through @iyamille_michelin, they’re sharing videos, photos, and reflections on their new life. They’re also using a GoFundMe page to raise money to rebuild and reunite with their children, who remain in the United States.
Their ultimate hope is to secure a visa to a third country where they can live together as a family, but many nations are not issuing visas to Haitian citizens amid ongoing unrest.
For now, the Michelins are navigating unfamiliar terrain, trying to build a life in a place where the language, culture, and even safety feel uncertain, while staying connected to the life and loved ones they left behind in Miami.
