SAN DIEGO, California (CMC) — The Haitian Bridge Alliance (HBA) on Wednesday expressed “grave concern” over the deployment of the National Guard to America’s capital, warning that increased militarisation will have devastating consequences for immigrants, refugees and others who already live under heightened surveillance and fear of law enforcement.

“Washington, DC is home to vibrant immigrant communities who contribute to every part of our city’s life,” HBA Co-founder and Executive Director Guerline Jozef told the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC). “By sending in the National Guard, the government is sending a clear message: that our communities are to be monitored, controlled and feared.”

“This is the same playbook that has led to mass deportations, family separations and police brutality across the country,” she added. “We reject it.”

“Our neighborhoods need increase congressional funding housing, healthcare and humane immigration policies—not troops in the streets,” continued Jozef, stating that Caribbean and other immigrant communities in DC already face intersecting crises: “A lack of access to affordable legal representation, language barriers, wage theft, and the threat of ICE enforcement.”

She said the presence of the National Guard will only compound these challenges by creating an atmosphere of intimidation that discourages residents from seeking help or participating in civic life.

“This is not about safety—it’s about power,” Jozef said. “We have seen time and again that, when law enforcement is militarised, it is our black, brown, and immigrant neighbours who suffer the most.

“President Trump speaks of poor and homeless people as if they are debris to be swept away, not human beings with dignity and dreams,” Jozef added. “Moving people without a real plan is not leadership—it’s cruelty dressed up as policy.”

“This is the kind of dehumanisation that turns poverty into a crime and erases the humanity of our most vulnerable neighbours,” she continued. “We call on all people of conscience to stand with us in resisting this dangerous normalisation of military force against our communities.”

On Tuesday, Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) Chair Yvette D Clarke, the daughter of Jamaican immigrants, and CBC members also strongly condemned President Trump’s seizure of control of the DC Police and the deployment of the National Guard.

Clarke represents the ninth Congressional District in Brooklyn, New York.

“President Trump does not care about keeping Washington, DC, or any of our communities safe,” said Clarke and CBC members in a statement. “His claims about crime in the district — where violent crime is now at a 30-year low — are patently false.”

They noted that on his first day in office, Trump granted pardons to nearly 1,500 individuals convicted of or charged in connection with the deadly January 6 Capitol attack, “eliminating any credibility he has on the issue of public safety”.

“This unprecedented attack on DC home rule is a blatantly racist and despicable power grab, and it won’t stop in Washington, DC,” they said. “While we don’t yet know the full impact this decision will have on DC and the black and minority communities Trump has suggested he may target next, we do know this: militarised over-policing will inevitably lead to increased fear and mistrust among communities that have too often been treated as occupied populations, rather than as citizens who deserve to be served and protected.

“It is clear that President Trump will do anything to distract from the crises plaguing his administration — from the Epstein files to the disastrous jobs report — including putting the residents of DC and the American people in harm’s way,” they added. “Any and all failures that result from this dangerous overreach of power will fall squarely on his shoulders.”

Clarke and the CBC said they will continue fighting to protect DC’s right to self-governance, urging all Americans to “recognise this for what it is: a test run for broader authoritarian overreach”.

“The stakes are high not just for Washington, DC, but for the future of democracy in every corner of this country,” they warned.