Thursday, October 1, 2026
For Claire Leon, the uncertainty surrounding Temporary Protected Status is being felt close to home.
Leon, a Valley Stream resident and longtime advocate for the Haitian community, said she has watched the Haitian community and surrounding area change over nearly three decades. Now, she said, concerns about immigration enforcement have added a new layer of fear for residents, including those who are U.S. citizens.
“I think it’s very dividing right now because you don’t feel safe,” Leon said. “You don’t feel comfortable.”
Leon said the concerns extend to local businesses and the rising cost of living. She pointed to Rockaway Avenue and nearby commercial areas, saying she has seen businesses close as owners struggle with rents and uncertainty.
“Who has $2,500 a month to pay for front store business?” Leon said. “That money probably you don’t even promise you’re gonna make that money a month to pay the rent.”
She said the changes are part of a broader concern about whether younger generations will be able to afford to remain on Long Island.
“I remember 27 years ago when we bought our house. It was like $175,000,” Leon said. “Now that number doesn’t exist no more on Long Island. So now we’re asking ourselves the question if our kids will be able to live on Long Island.”
Those concerns were also on Leon’s mind last week when Gov. Kathy Hochul joined Nassau County Legislator Carrié Solages and Assemblywoman Michaelle Solages for a meet-and-greet with members of the Haitian community at the Vault on Hempstead Turnpike in Elmont.
The event focused on concerns surrounding Temporary Protected Status, immigration enforcement and other issues affecting Haitian residents. Leon said Hochul’s appearance was significant for a community that she believes has been living with increasing uncertainty.
“For the governor to come over the other day, and then I was there, I think it’s very good,” Leon said. “It’s like a security for the Haitian community.”
Participants had a chance to meet the governor and hear about her administration’s approach to issues affecting Haitian immigrants. Michaelle Solages credited Hochul with supporting Haitian immigrants with TPS and efforts involving legal services, health care, schools and protection from profiling.
Hochul discussed the fear surrounding immigration enforcement and its effect on Haitian families, neighborhoods and businesses. She also addressed restrictions on Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents wearing masks, which she described as an “intimidation tactic.”
Near the end of the event, Hochul recalled her grandparents, who emigrated from Ireland.
“I was a lucky one,” she said. “My family got out, and I know my job as the governor of this greatest state in America is to make sure everybody — everybody who came here, no matter when they came — has the same chance that my family had of living the American dream. That is my commitment to all of you.”
Leon said the concerns discussed at the event are personal for many Haitian residents, including those who are citizens.
“We want safety. We want to be comfortable,” Leon said. “This country is a country of promise. This is America we’re talking about, a country of freedom. I want my country to be free. … I think we’re tired of the temporary status. We want permanent residency.”
Dr. Malc Hilaire, a Franklin Square resident, also emphasized the significance of Hochul’s appearance for the Haitian community.
“Well, basically she means a lot because she’s been on the backbone of everything good that’s been done for the Haitian community,” Hilaire said.
Hochul also criticized President Donald Trump’s policies toward people with TPS, saying deportations violate what she described as core American values. She described the Haitian community as essential health care workers and caregivers and emphasized the value of its businesses, families and loved ones.
“I wanted to talk to this community, primarily Haitian, to let them know that I am supporting them 100 percent,” Hochul told the Herald. “That I am appalled by Donald Trump’s cruel policy against people who are here legally with temporary protected status, like the Haitians. … [T]o be deporting them violates everything that we stand on. So I wanted to tell the community that I’m fighting for them.”
For Leon, however, the issues extend beyond immigration status. She said the uncertainty has affected how Haitian residents feel in their own communities and has added to concerns about housing, local businesses and the future of families on Long Island.
Leon said she came to the United States at 14 and is now a citizen, but she still worries about being targeted because of her accent or appearance.
“Not because of my accent. Would I be a target? Most definitely,” she said.
She said she never expected to see the level of division she believes exists today.
“I would never think I would experience such a harsh situation where everybody’s assembled because of your skin color,” Leon said. “And in my lifetime, I would never think I was seeing so much racism in America that I’m experiencing right now.”
For Leon, the changes she has witnessed over nearly three decades have made the current uncertainty particularly personal. As an advocate for the Haitian community, she said she is concerned not only about the immediate questions surrounding TPS and immigration enforcement, but also about whether families will continue to be able to afford to live and build their lives on Long Island.
“I remember 27 years ago when we bought our house,” Leon said. “Now that number doesn’t exist no more on Long Island.”
