Fredly Charles, the loving father of a baby with complex medical needs, is facing deportation to Haiti—a place where he has no family, and where his daughter’s fragile health would be at enormous risk should his U.S. citizen wife, Tasha Charles, follow him with their child. Fredly’s deportation would profoundly and irretrievably harm this family and must be stopped!

Baby Alianna, now 13 months old, was born with a rare condition that makes it difficult for her to breathe. She spent her first six months of life in the hospital. She has a tracheostomy in her neck to help her breathe, and a gastronomy-jejunostomy tube in her stomach to help her eat, each of which requires skilled daily care and maintenance. Fredly and Tasha had to undergo weeks of medical training at a Boston hospital before they could bring their daughter home.

A typical daycare could not keep Alianna safe—she needs round-the-clock care from a trained parent. Fredly, who worked for a moving company, left his job to take care of her full-time while Tasha works. He is an extraordinary father; he and Alianna have a special bond. Fredly keeps Alianna healthy, safe, and loved. 

Fredly came to the U.S. legally at age 11; he went to high school in Massachusetts and still lives there. He was granted a temporary green card not long after his arrival. While his parents and siblings were able to establish permanent residency and citizenship, for unknown reasons Fredly’s card was not renewed. Though his family and later a lawyer attempted to rectify this, they were unsuccessful and Fredly remained undocumented while the paperwork lagged. An arrest for a misdemeanor not long after high school put him in the crosshairs of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Though the charges were dismissed and Fredly has no criminal record, an immigration judge ordered him deported—immigration courts consider arrests whether or not the charges stick. Fredly was held in ICE custody for over a year; Tasha visited him every day though it was an hour’s drive each way. 

In the spring of 2020, Fredly was moved through numerous ICE facilities in various states towards a final destination—an airport in Louisiana where he was to board a flight to Haiti. Due to media and political pressure, Fredly was pulled from the flight just after boarding. Not long afterwards, ICE released him from custody. He and Tasha have lived together in Massachusetts since then, and he continues to litigate his deportation appeal.

If Fredly is deported, and Tasha and Alianna follow him to Haiti, their access to appropriate medical care will be acutely diminished. Haiti is in utter chaos. After the assassination of the president in 2021, the country is overrun with gang violence and severe shortages of food, water, fuel, medicine, supplies, and electricity. It would be a catastrophic move for a child who has complex medical needs and relies on specialized equipment—powered by electricity—to survive. But if Tasha and Alianna remained in the United States, the family would be ruptured forever. Tasha would become an unemployed single mother—she would bear the impossible task of supporting her daughter financially while caring for her physically. And Fredly would have little chance of survival as a U.S. deportee with no family, friends, or acquaintances to help him navigate the inescapable violence in Haiti.

Since Alianna’s birth, Fredly’s lawyer has repeatedly asked the government to exercise what’s known as prosecutorial discretion. PD is the authority of a law enforcement agency to preserve limited government resources necessary to achieve just and fair outcomes in individual cases, saving the government the cost of continued litigation. The Office of the Principal Legal Advisor (OPLA), which represents the Department of Homeland Security in immigration proceedings, has the authority to assist in creating a fair resolution in low-priority cases such as Fredly’s. His deep ties to the U.S. and lack of criminal convictions make him a perfect candidate for PD. Instead of helping to resolve this case, however, OPLA has twice denied to exercise PD and instead continues its fight to enforce Fredly’s deportation order. 

While some Haitians are eligible for temporary protected status due to the situation there, the process of obtaining TPS is long—Fredly’s application has been pending for almost a year. Should his last appeal be denied—something which could happen within two months—Fredly will almost certainly be deported soon afterwards unless his TPS application is granted, which would provide only a temporary pause regardless.

The future of this family is in the hands of the Office of the Principal Legal Advisor in Boston—the Boston branch of the government lawyers who represent ICE.

Fredly is running out of time. We call on Boston OPLA to create a just resolution for Fredly Charles. We ask that OPLA stop fighting to enforce a deportation order which would have devastating consequences for baby Alianna. Please do the right thing! Please agree to help keep this beautiful family together and safe in Massachusetts!

Please sign and share to stop the deportation of Fredly Charles.

Read more about Fredly, Tasha, and Alianna Charles and their story in an episode of “Here and Now” from National Public Radio.