November 24, 2025
Edrisse Michelin, sent back to Haiti after a federal conviction, describes a painful return to the country he left as a toddler and warns that thousands of Haitian families could face similar upheaval.
After nearly 30 years in South Florida, Edrisse Michelin now opens his eyes each morning in a country he barely recognizes. “I still don’t feel like I’m home. I still feel like I’m just roaming,” the 32-year-old said from Haiti. “I feel uneasy.”
As reported by CBS News, Michelin arrived in South Florida at age three from Haiti 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, upended everything. “I lived in a country for 30 years, and I never got in trouble. But I made a mistake—my morals became 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 with roughly 120 others. He described the journey as physically painful and humiliating.
“Your feet are shackled together, your ankles are getting cut up, your hands are shackled,” he recalled. Officials, he said, instructed passengers how to use safety equipment “if there’s a plane crash,” prompting him to ask, “How are we gonna do that?”
Once the plane landed in Cap-Haïtien, deportees were given $100 and released to waiting relatives. Michelin’s wife, Iyamille — an American citizen — met him at the airport. “There’s people that left only two, three years ago that are afraid to come here, and she’s here,” he said.
The couple has been moving between towns as they try to adjust. They traveled by helicopter to Port-au-Prince, then boarded a bus to reach Petit-Goâve, where some of Michelin’s relatives live. Still, he says, daily life is difficult for both longtime residents and returnees. “The people work hard,” he said. “But they’re trying to overcome obstacles… and they haven’t quite fully understood how to overcome these obstacles.”
He also worries about Haitians in the U.S. who may soon face deportation. Temporary Protected Status for more than 330,000 Haitian nationals is set to expire Feb. 3, leaving many at risk. “What I’m concerned about… It’s very limited here,” he said. “If you’re gonna be dropping tens of thousands of people in one location… they’re not going to be able to get home.”
Even he, a Haitian-born man, is struggling. “I speak a little bit of Creole, and I’m struggling,” he admitted.
On Instagram, the Michelins document their daily challenges in hopes of helping other mixed-status families grasp the realities of deportation. They have eight children between them — children he hasn’t seen in years.
Their goal now is to secure 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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