A Haitian businessman of Lebanese origin is being detained by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Pierre Reginald Boulos, a US-born entrepreneur and physician with connections with State Department officials, is being held on immigration violations in Miami after being arrested by ICE agents at his home in Palm Beach. The arrest took place on Thursday.
It is not known if Pierre Boulos is related to Massad Boulos, the token decoy Lebanese-American "Advisor" to Trump on Middle Eastern Affairs, a title he earned because his son is married to Trump's daughter.
To date, Pierre Boulos is the most high-profile Haitian to be detained by Trump, after protections and work permits were canceled for over a half million Haitians temporarily in the United States. The case is complicated by his uncertain immigration status. As a one-time Haitian presidential aspirant, he renounced his U.S. citizenship several years ago.
This reminds me of Gaby Issa, the Lebanese-American ally and financier of former Lebanese president Michel Aoun who appointed him ambassador to the US after Aoun was brought to power by the Iranian terrorist organization Hezbollah by paralyzing parliament for 2.5 years. In media interviews prior to the latest Israeli war against Hezbollah last fall 2024, Issa has reportedly called on Hezbollah to multiply its rockets and missiles arsenal, rather than put down its weapons and allow Lebanon to rebuild. [See: https://lebanoniznogood.blogspot.com/2022/09/turncoat-gaby-issa-in-his-own-words.html ]. Issa is believed to have renounced his US citizenship to take the ambassador's post. Since Hezbollah's debacle, Issa has not been heard from.
Immigration court records published online on Monday show that the 69-year old Boulos has a hearing scheduled at 8 a.m. July 31 before immigration judge Jorge Pereira at the Krome Detention Center.
ICE has confirmed the arrest in a statement accusing him of engaging in violence and collaborating with armed gangs that once burned down his car dealership.
A lawful permanent resident and citizen of Haiti, Boulos was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations “for violating the Immigration and Nationality Act contributing to the destabilization of Haiti,” and collaborating with Viv Ansanm, a Haitian foreign terrorist organization.
“Boulos’ presence or activities in the United States would have potential serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States, providing a basis for the charge of removability,” the statement said. “Specifically, officials determined that he engaged in a campaign of violence and gang support that contributed to Haiti’s destabilization.”
ICE confirm allegations that Boulos, in his application to become a lawful permanent resident, failed to disclose his involvement in the formation of a political party in Haiti. ICE also noted that “he was referred for prosecution by the Haitian government’s Unit for the Fight Against Corruption for misusing loans, supporting an additional ground of removability based on this fraud.”
The Boulos case comes amid considerable uncertainty over the fate of tens of thousands of Haitian immigrants. Earlier this month, a federal judge in New York ruled that the Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem acted unlawfully by rolling back the deadline for Temporary Protected Status granted under the Biden administration. On Friday, the Trump administration announced that, while disagreeing with the judge’s order, it has restored the original Feb. 3 deadline.
Boulos is a highly controversial figure in Haiti, where he long worked as both a medical doctor and businessman while simultaneously wielding considerable influence over national politics. Boulos, who moved back to South Florida four years ago, has long been the subject of countless conspiracy theories and corruption allegations on social media.
In a 2004 photo, Reginald Boulos president of Auto Plaza in Port-au-Prince, stood a a show room shot up during political turmoil In 2003, after his wife was kidnapped for a week, he moved his whole family to Miami, where he sometimes resided.
His activism in Haitian politics dates back decades. In the early 2000s, he was among members of the country’s elite active in the movement to oust then president Jean-Bertrand Aristide. After his wife was kidnapped in 2003, he moved his family to Miami, where he sometimes resided. In 2021, Boulos’ dealership was burned to the ground by members of Viv Ansanm gang, and he is often targeted by its leaders.
Born in New York, Boulos attended medical school in Haiti and later earned a master’s degree in public health from Tulane University in New Orleans. However, it is his dealings in business and politics that gave him such notoriety in Haiti, capped by trying to make a bid for the presidency. Because candidates cannot hold citizenship in two countries, he renounced his U.S. citizenship. In 2021, he presented himself as a candidate in the country’s not-yet scheduled elections.
The Trump administration has been targeting illegal immigration aggressively since January. Haitians who entered the U.S. under the Biden-era humanitarian parole program and others who have Temporary Protected Status are now being targeted for deportations.
The administration has reversed its position that Haiti is a dangerous place, saying conditions have improved. However, the United Nations and others have said conditions have gotten worse due to the onslaught of armed gangs that are expanding beyond Port-au-Prince, driving displacement and hunger. Gangs have also been targeting members of the country’s elite through kidnappings and ransom demands, the burning of their businesses in recent months.
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