In Wisconsin, a family of Biden parolees does well despite challenges

This story is part of the Haitians in America series looking at Haitians and Haitian Americans across the United States. Financial support for this work is provided by the Ford Foundation.

MILWAUKEE, Wis. — Around this time last year, the Christophe family saw news of the Biden parole program from their home near Les Cayes, Haiti, and got immediately excited, like so many Haitians. The family — Marilyn, her son Mario and her sister-in-law Dianna — knew the U.S. would provide new opportunities. It would be a chance to try another life outside of their southern Haiti village at the very least. So they were filled with hope when Marilyn’s brother, Jacques, applied to sponsor them to come join him in Milwaukee.

The three beneficiaries arrived in America on Feb. 25, 2023. 

“I don’t really have words to describe the feeling when I first saw them here,” said Jacques, 36. It’s been a while since I saw them and then to finally [be able to] say that they are here going to be with me….” He trailed off, clearly happy with the memory.

“The last few years were so difficult,” said Dianna. She was referring to 2021, living through the earthquake that struck the south of Haiti, destroying houses and lives and making her fearful of so much in Haiti she had enjoyed before. 

“I don’t think she has that fear anymore, because now it’s safe,” said Jacques. “She doesn’t have to worry about this kind of event anymore here in Wisconsin.” 

Wisconsin’s nearly 6 million residents, which are 82% white, include only around 1,200 of Haitian ancestry according to ZipAtlas, an online resource for social, economic, demographic, and housing characteristics. Milwaukee, the largest city in the state, has only around 250 people of Haitian ancestry in its population of nearly 1 million, 54% of whom are white.

Experience, family presence and determination all contributed to the success of the first year reunited in Milwaukee. Names of the family have been changed for security reasons. Their story is one example of dedication, grit, resources and collaboration it takes to help parolees settle in and thrive.

The program operated as it was intended

U.S. President Joe Biden’s parole program for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans reached its one-year anniversary January 6. With the anniversary come stories about the program’s success, by various measures, from families across the U.S. 

Some, like the Christophes, celebrated their family’s arrival. Others complained there was no financial support for immigrants upon their arrival. Some worried about the slow process, especially when single family members remained in Haiti separated from the rest.

At the national level, the overall impact is not fully clear. Some commentators suggest the policy behind it is “revolutionary,” while others say numbers are misleading. 

Yet, the program’s intention — to provide safe and direct passage from Haiti to the U.S. — did just that for 112,000 Haitians, as of December. A text message telling approved parolees they had authorization to arrive legally in the U.S. allowed them to remain at home in Haiti rather than stand waiting at the southern U.S. border. 

The Christophe sisters-in-law — ages 29 and 52 — and son, arriving mid-Wisconsin winter, moved into the 3-bedroom home, which Jacques and his wife, Elizabeth, shared with his parents. The elder Christophes had received their green cards in 2019 after many prior visits to the U.S. from Haiti.

“[I] didn’t speak the same language,” said Elizabeth, daughter of two ministers and originally from Minnesota. “So it was an adjustment, but it was nice having [Jacques’ family] here.” 

Jacques and Elizabeth’s daughter, Allison, age 6, welcomed her kouzen, Mario, age 9, though neither child knew the other’s language initially. 

But now, the children are like “two peas in a pod,” said Elizabeth. Their ability with both Kreyol and English makes them almost able to finish one another’s sentences. 

In the new eight-person household, grocery shopping was different, remembers Elizabeth. They had to get used to buying more, cooking more though food served at home, primarily Haitian cuisine, did not change a lot. 

“They’re fabulous cooks, so Marilyn and Dianna did a lot of the cooking and helped with cleaning, which was nice,” said Elizabeth. 

The newly arrived women immediately signed up for work permits and local English classes, which were full at the time. Jacques arranged for the next best thing — he gave Marilyn and Dianna laptops and connected them to learning sites in English, such as Coursera and Udemy. By the time the in-person English classes began in June 2023, Dianna was eligible to join Level 2.

In July, Jacques and Elizabeth purchased a second property, a duplex, just a few blocks away. Jacques’ parents moved into one unit and the sisters and Marios into the second. 

Family from the same blood 

Jacques’ experience, immigrating as a student to Donnelly College in Kansas in 2011 gave him knowledge of how to help his family in strategic ways. He, too, arrived in the middle of a Midwestern winter but, when summer rolled around, he found himself without a place to stay. He wasn’t taking summer classes, and without enrollment he wasn’t able to stay in the dorm. Thankfully a longtime friend invited him to live with her in Milwaukee. 

The adjustment changed his life forever. He met Elizabeth, changed universities, graduated with a PhD in engineering from University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. He now works, lives, teaches and is an M.B.A. candidate in the area. Through his own activities and support for his family, he has set a high bar for his sisters to follow. 

At the end of November’s English classes, the sisters had each moved up two levels and obtained their work permits. Marilyn and Dianna took on retail jobs, in great part, to improve their language skills. 

“I’m really proud of them,” said Elizabeth, a Nurse Practitioner who also returned to school to become credentialed to teach. “[Marilyn and Dianna] have accomplished a lot. They have the same kind of blood as Jacques has. I’m not surprised at all.” 

Marilyn now works behind the deli counter at a regional supermarket chain. She intends to start a nursing program just as soon as she reaches a level of comfort with English. 

Dianna’s job at Walmart requires her to check if shoppers have paid for all their purchases. To some, it would seem the most difficult job in the store. Dianna takes it in stride, laughing at responses she sometimes receives from shoppers when asked to see their receipts.

“‘I’ve paid for all my things!’” she quotes them as saying. “Or,’‘No, no, no, no, no, no, no!’”

Simple adjustments often difficult

Jacques acknowledges his family has made a great adjustment to their new life in Milwaukee.

He remembers when his sisters decided to feel their independence and walk to Walmart. They were accustomed to Jacques driving them — a 5 to 10 minute ride. To their surprise, it took them well over an hour to walk there. Now they take the bus, he said.

Mario, too, has adjusted. Initially he was assigned a teacher to help with his English, but now he speaks  the language fluently and has many friends both near his home and at school. He’s also not afraid of cold weather, said Jacques.

If there is one thing the family has not adjusted to, it is knowing Dianna’s 3-year-old child remains in Haiti with Jacques’ older sister. Jacques filed sponsorship papers for his nephew, his older sister and her two daughters in April. They are waiting to hear about their travel authorizations.

“Now we have this surge at the border. I think what’s happened is because of the change made in the program,” Jacques said, referring to the USCIS selection adjustments in May. 

Of 30,000 sponsorship applicants reviewed every month, 15,000 are chosen chronologically from the date applied, and 15,000, randomly.  

“It feels like [Haitians] lost faith in the program,” said Jacques, referring to an increased use of boats to Florida and flights to Nicaragua to enter through Mexico’s border to the U.S. 

With three Christophe family members here and four more, hopefully soon, on the way, “I have not lost faith in the program,” said Jacques.