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In Little Haiti, a hot home team cools ICE tensions
By David Bien-Aime
Kompa, a signature music of Haiti, flows through open car windows. Shoppers chat in Haitian Creole at the corner store checkout. The scent of garlic and onions in various diri — Creole for rice — floats out of restaurants.
Those are among the signs of renewed activity in Brooklyn’s Little Haiti, where residents are gearing up to watch a Haitian team, for the first time in 52 years, compete in the World Cup. On Toussaint L’ouverture Boulevard, Haitian pride was displayed through miniature Haitian flags bearing the Haitian coat of arms, jewelry with Haitian flag replicas, bucket hats and baseball caps with Haitian flags sewn on and other merchandise. Body after body after body was decked out in the Haitian team’s jersey.
It’s a contrast. Months ago, Little Haiti’s streets were much less busy. Many residents — Haitians account for about 1% of New York City’s population — sheltered indoors, fearing ICE raids and deportation. Since January 2025, more than 5,500 immigrants have been detained by ICE, according to a May 2026 report by New York City officials. The number of detained Haitians is unknown.
Amid that uncertainty, there’s excitement about the World Cup in Little Haiti.
“We love our team. We believe in our team, but honestly, we don’t care what happens, because getting into the World Cup is [an] achievement for us,” said Kassandra Laborde Khalil, the program director of non-profit organization Haiti Cultural Exchange.
The Haiti team stunned the soccer world on Nov. 18, 2025, when it became the first from any Caribbean nation to qualify for the World Cup twice. That feat and the June 13 match-up against Scotland, for some, was a joyful kind of escapism.
At the Haitian Cultural Exchange’s watch party, about 50 fans packed into the small, hot room to watch Haiti play Scotland. The room buzzed with English and Creole as fans erupted with frustration after a shot was missed or whenever they believed a referee missed a foul call.
Black, white, and Hispanic fans watched the game side-by-side, all united by their support for Haiti. Passion and pride could be felt on every corner of the room.
Though Haiti lost 1-0, there was a sense of community during the match. At the end of the game, there were graceful claps.
Haiti’s World Cup competition is a special opportunity, said artist and nurse Stephanie Pierre. “The Haitian people are finally having an opportunity to write the history themselves, through their own effort, ” said Pierre, who also owns Kafou Gallery.
Haiti-born Brooklyn resident Mahalia Stines moved to the United States 46 years ago. She watched on TV as Haiti, the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere, qualified for the World Cup in 2026 and in 1974.
“I was not even a teenager yet,” said Stines, an artist. “ … It’s one of those events [where] you think the odds are against you and it’s one of those events that remind you that everything’s possible, anything’s possible … A lot is against Haiti. But, yet, here we are, a reminder that optimism is always important.”