In June, thousands of fans from Scotland will flood into Providence for the World Cup. The “Tartan Army” will even be traveling in 21 yellow school buses up to Gillette Stadium (rebranded as Boston Stadium) in Foxborough. Scotland plays their first match on June 13 against Haiti, but there will be no fans traveling from the opposing island nation to the U.S. for the game.
The United States completely suspended all travel from Haiti in June of 2025, after years of racist rhetoric by President Trump and the Republican Party. Haitians are one of the fastest-growing immigrant groups in the Providence area, especially after a wave of migration brought over 1,000 Haitians to Rhode Island from 2022 through 2024. Local fans said Haiti’s second-ever appearance at the World Cup, and its first in 52 years, is bringing a “light of hope” to the community, despite Trump’s efforts to remove legal immigration status for hundreds of thousands of Haitians.
PVD Fanzone Plans Team Haiti Takeover for June 13
From June 11 to June 19, the PVD FanZone at Station Park will host local food trucks, serve alcohol and host watch parties for World Cup games. The City is expecting upwards of 10,000 fans from Scotland to stay in Providence, but is also hosting Team Ghana. Providence is planning several programs for different fanbases, and is finalizing the details for June 13 to be a celebration of a “historic moment for Team Haiti.”
“The Haitian national team’s visit to New England is incredibly meaningful for Providence because we are home to the largest Haitian community in the state, which plays such an important role in the life of our city,” said Michaela M. Antunes, Providence Deputy Chief of Staff. “Haitian immigrants and Haitian-Americans have contributed enormously to Providence through small businesses, culture, faith communities, the arts, food, family and neighborhood life, and community leadership.”
Haiti and Iran are the only countries in the World Cup on a full travel ban to the U.S., meaning despite the flow of international fans to Providence, none will be flying in from Port-au-Prince. Jonathan Bruneus, a 22-year-old training to become an automotive technician, said people he knows from church are hosting watch parties, and he hasn’t decided where he’ll watch the game.
“It’s way harder to support the Haitian national team, at least in person, compared to everywhere else. Other countries are getting full hotels for everybody else and everything like that,” said Bruneus. “It’s not the same for us, but we always have to fight anyway. We’re going to find a way.”
His cousins, whether they live in Providence or Haiti, shared videos capturing their excitement when Haiti qualified.
“It means a lot to my family, my mom, my aunt—we haven’t seen a Haitian World Cup team in such a long time,” said Bruneus, who usually ends up rooting for Brazil. “Now, we have our country here to represent [and] giving us a light of hope in this very dark time for Haiti.”
Temporary Protected Status for Haitians Under Threat
Haiti’s prime minister announced on May 11 that the country will not hold elections this year, which would have been the first election in nearly 10 years. Haiti’s parliament has not been active since 2019, and has had no federally elected officials since 2023. Over 1.4 million people have been displaced by gang violence. Fleeing the instability in Haiti, it’s estimated over 1,100 immigrants moved to Rhode Island between 2022 and 2024, settling in Providence, Pawtucket and Central Falls with Temporary Protected Status (TPS). However, TPS was granted to Haitian migrants as far back as 2010.
“16 years later, we have folks who are already born here,” said Bernard Georges, founder of New Bridges 4 Haitian Success. “We have the parents on the TPS. We have folks who purchased houses here, folks with pensions.”
Georges lobbied for protecting Haitians’ TPS status with leaders in Congress in Washington, D.C. on May 19 for Rhode Island Day, hosted by Reps. Seth Magaziner and Gabe Amo. A bill in Congress would extend TPS for Haitians, but the proposal comes as the Supreme Court considers allowing President Trump to cut off the status for Haitian and Syrian nationals. Eliminating TPS would essentially cut off legal pathways to work for over a million people in the U.S.
“Some places like Amazon and Walmart are already sending them back home, so they’re not working,” said Georges. “This place has become their home… after 16 years, going back to Haiti, you’d be lost.”
Protecting Haitian Community Members During the World Cup
Georges is prepared to celebrate Haiti’s World Cup appearance in this corner of the world, but he also wants to ensure community members will be safe to celebrate.
“They deserve to enjoy this moment without fear,” said Georges. “ICE might be arresting them. What protocols [are] they putting in place to make sure that these people are not being attacked?”
Providence has established safety protocols, including a Command Center on Finance Way and shutting down several roads in anticipation of traffic. While the safety protocols do not mention immigration enforcement, City officials said existing Providence policies on immigration remain in effect, including orders for local police to not participate in civil immigration enforcement.
“Recent federal actions and rhetoric have created fear and anxiety across our communities, affecting not only our immigrant neighbors, but families and communities throughout the city,” said Antunes. “Recognizing that cities are strongest when we stand together in defense of our communities, Mayor Smiley has joined eight amicus briefs challenging actions by the Trump Administration since taking office. That includes participation in Trump v. Miot opposing efforts to end Temporary Protected Status (TPS) protections for Haitian residents.”
A decision from the Supreme Court is expected by late June or early July, according to SCOTUSblog. The World Cup final is scheduled for July 19 in New Jersey. On the pitch or in politics, Haitian community members will be watching what happens next closely.
“I have one of my friends who also just graduated today and his dad wasn’t even able to come here because of the travel ban,” said Bruneus. “We’ve always been a resilient country… Even though we have stuff going on back at home, we still were able to qualify for the World Cup.”
Eric Halvarson is a City News Reporter for The Providence Eye.
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