Let Them Stay: Guervens’ Story

We’re sharing Guervens’ story as part of our Let Them Stay campaign, to push back on the Trump administration’s targeting of people who arrived in the United States through humanitarian parole programs. Learn more, read on, and take action today.

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“I’m Vicki, and I’m grateful you’re here for my story.” 

Vicki, a former security professional from Illinois, first met Guervens in 2011 when she taught online English classes to people in Haiti following the devastating 2010 earthquake. 

Guervens stood out. 

“Fifteen young men, including Guervens, connected daily at 4:00 p.m. using a car battery-powered computer. Some days, Skype worked; others, it failed, leaving us in tears. Yet we persisted.” 

“We formed a pact: I’d teach them English for free, and they’d pass it on. Our motto, ‘Each one teach one,’ fueled our growth.”

Vicki traveled to Haiti and ultimately started working there for a Haitian construction company in 2014. Meanwhile, she continued teaching English and kept up her friendship with Guervens, who by then followed in her footsteps as an English teacher.

“When a town five hours from Port-au-Prince, Port Salut, requested lessons, I sent Guervens. With no pay, just a place to stay and one daily meal, he taught the entire community.”

Even after Vicki returned to the United States, she kept in touch with Guervens. After the assassination of former President Jovenel Moise in July 2021, Haiti was plunged into violence and political chaos. Guervens endured Haiti’s relentless gang violence, poverty, and systemic corruption; faith in God sustained his hope. 

In 2023, after reflection and prayer, Vicki and her husband Tom sponsored Guervens’ entry to the United States through the CHNV humanitarian parole program, and helped Guervens rebuild his life in their community outside Chicago, Illinois. Humanitarian parole was his path to a safer, brighter future

“Guervens arrived in our Midwest town with a backpack, two shirts, pants, and his Bible. He joined a local church, found work at an Amish-owned company 42 minutes away, and learned to drive. We drove him daily until he bought his first car from a church couple. From welding to operating a million-dollar CNC machine for bridges and overpasses, Guervens has thrived.”

In Illinois, Guervens now has a car, an apartment, a life partner, and a baby on the way. As he rebuilt his life in the United States, in 2024, Guervens also applied for another form of humanitarian protection in the United States, temporary protected status (TPS), as conditions in Haiti have worsened considerably. 

But the Trump administration is trying to terminate TPS for Haiti and has now revoked Guervens’ humanitarian parole status – alongside more than 530,000 others who came to the United States through the CHNV program. 

With his status taken away, he’s now vulnerable to detention and deportation back to Haiti. 

“‘Each one teach one’ wasn’t just a motto; it was our promise to lift each other up,” Vicki said.

“Guervens arrived with nothing but determination and faith. Watching him grow from a student in Haiti to a skilled worker in our community proves the power of opportunity and support.

His heart for others is why we sponsored him – he’s not just an immigrant, he’s family. The U.S. immigration system must recognize people like Guervens, who contribute, work hard, and inspire. 

Supporting Guervens through CHNV was a leap of faith, but seeing him thrive in our Midwest community proves that opportunity can change lives. The system needs to see Guervens for who he is: a man who turned loss into leadership.”

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