In mid‑July 2025, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested Pierre Réginald Boulos, a Haitian businessman, physician, and former presidential hopeful, at his home in South Florida. Authorities accused him of engaging in a “campaign of violence and gang support” that contributed to the destabilization of Haiti.  U.S. officials also asserted that Boulos omitted material facts in his application for U.S. lawful permanent residency—specifically, his involvement in founding a Haitian political party (Mouvement pour la Transformation et la Valorisation d’Haiti) and that he faced referral for prosecution in Haiti’s anti‑corruption unit over misuse of loans. Based on these findings, ICE moved to treat him as removable under immigration law.

Following his arrest, a federal immigration judge in Miami held a closed hearing and ordered that Boulos remain in custody. Prosecutors argued that his continued detention was warranted given the gravity of the allegations and potential foreign policy consequences. Boulos, born in the U.S. but who renounced his U.S. citizenship to run for Haitian presidency, had later regained U.S. residency prior to the arrest. His family has stated that they intend to contest the allegations through legal channels.

The case has drawn international attention given Boulos’s prominence and its intersection with U.S. immigration enforcement policy. The U.S. Department of State has framed the arrest as tied to broader interests in regional stability, asserting that individuals who “facilitate the actions of violent organizations abroad” should not retain the benefits of U.S. legal status. Critics and human rights observers, however, have raised concerns about due process, conditions of detention, and lack of transparency in the case.