Deported after 30 years in the US, a South Florida man struggles to rebuild life in Haiti

After almost thirty years in South Florida, Edrisse Michelin now opens his eyes every morning in a country he barely recognizes. “I still don’t feel like I’m home. I still feel like I’m just wandering around,” the 32-year-old said from Haiti. “I feel uncomfortable.”

If reported Through CBS NewsMichelin arrived in South Florida from Haiti at the age of three and spent his entire life in Miami. He graduated from South Ridge High School, attended Miami Dade College, built a career as a real estate agent and insurance broker and lived as a lawful permanent resident. But one decision, he says, turned everything upside down. “I lived in a country for 30 years and never got into trouble. But I made a mistake: my morals were corrupted,” he said.

In 2020, Michelin was convicted of securing an illegal Paycheck Protection Program loan. He spent just over two years in federal prison, followed by nine months in immigration detention. Earlier this month, he was placed on a deportation flight to Haiti along with about 120 others. He described the journey as physically painful and humiliating.

“Your feet are chained together, your ankles are cut open, your hands are handcuffed,” he recalls. Officials, he said, were instructing passengers how to use safety equipment “if there is a plane crash,” prompting him to ask, “How are we going to do that?”

Once the plane landed in Cap-Haïtien, the deportees were given $100 and released to waiting relatives. Michelin’s wife, Iyamille – a US citizen – met him at the airport. “There are people who only left two, three years ago and they’re afraid to come here, and she’s here,” he said.

The couple moved between cities to adjust. They traveled by helicopter to Port-au-Prince and then boarded a bus to reach Petit-Goâve, where some of Michelin’s relatives live. Still, he says, daily life is difficult for both long-term residents and returnees. “People work hard,” he said. “But they are trying to overcome obstacles… and they haven’t fully understood how to overcome these obstacles.”

He also worries about Haitians in the U.S. who could soon face deportation. Temporary protected status for more than 330,000 Haitian nationals is set to expire on February 3, leaving many at risk. “What I’m concerned about… It’s very limited here,” he said. “If you’re going to drop tens of thousands of people at one location… they’re not going to be able to get home.”

Even he, a Haitian-born man, is struggling. “I speak a little Creole, and I struggle with it,” he admitted.

On Instagram, the Michelins document their daily challenges in hopes of helping other mixed-status families understand the reality of deportation. They have eight children together – children he hasn’t seen in years.

Their goal now is to obtain a visa elsewhere and reunite as a family. But with few countries processing applications from Haitians, the couple remains stuck between the familiar and the foreign, unsure of what comes next.

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