Congressman Saves Rockland Resident From Deportation

Freshman Rep. Mondaire Jones intervened Monday to prevent Rockland County resident Paul Pierrilus from being illegally deported to Haiti, where he has never been.

Pierrilus, a financial consultant who lives in Spring Valley, immigrated to the United States at the age of 5.

Pierrilus was born in the French territory of St. Martin, which does not extend birthright citizenship. Although his parents were formerly Haitian citizens, Pierrilus is not a citizen of Haiti nor has he been to the country.

He has been under an order of supervision since 2006; and, following procedure, he checked in at the ICE New York City Field Office Jan. 11, according to news reports. He was taken into custody.

With Pierrilus’ deportation flight scheduled for Tuesday morning, friends began making desperate calls, and one was to the new Congressman. Jones’ team sprang into action coordinated with Pierrilus' attorneys.

They found the Department of Homeland Security had not approved travel documents. He was pulled from the plane at the last minute Tuesday.

Jones said he was glad to intervene "to prevent a final casualty of the Trump Administration’s devastating, racist immigration policy."

A Spring Valley resident himself, the 33-year-old now representing New York’s 17th District has been named to the House Judiciary and Education and Labor Committees. A product of East Ramapo public schools, Mondaire was raised in Section 8 housing and on food stamps in Rockland County by a single mother who worked multiple jobs to provide for their family. He later graduated from Stanford University, worked at the Department of Justice during the Obama Administration, and graduated from Harvard Law School.