Council Member Lewis recounts cousin's murder after TPS approval
Council Member Louis tells the story of her cousin Pierre Richard Eloy, who was days away from receiving TPS and traveling to New York when he was murdered in Haiti. She says TPS termination is life-or-death for Haitian families and describes the case of a Haitian student placed on an ankle monitor.
I want to tell you about my cousin.
His name was Pierre Richard Eloy.
In August 2024, Pierre Richard was days away from boarding a flight to New York City.
He had just received confirmation that he would be granted temporary protected status, also known as TPS.
Word got out to his community that he was leaving.
And because he refused to join the barbecue gang, they murdered him.
Ten bullets in front of his own home, in front of his family.
They held his body for ransom.
And we have seen Haitian immigrants subjected to electronic monitoring and public humiliation, including the deeply troubling case of Pierre Damas Bell,
a young Haitian college student whose family described the profound distress he experienced after being placed on an ankle monitor
simply for existing in this country while seeking safety.
These are not criminals.
These are our families.
These are workers.
These are our neighbors.
There are so many stories like these.
So many families who followed every rule, did everything right, and still paid the highest price unimaginable.
This is what TPS termination means in real life.
It's literally life or death.