MIAMI — The first deportation flight landed in Haiti after temporary protected status ended for Haitians.

And signs of this new reality can already be seen here in South Florida.

At lunch hour, a popular Haitian restaurant is quiet. The staff won’t come out of the kitchen. Outside, the strip mall parking lot and a nearby bus stop are also quiet.

All signs of a community slowly vanishing.

Johana Jacob says her salon has been like this for weeks.

“I have a lot of clients that don’t come anymore because, you know, they’re scared.”

The first deportation flight following the end of temporary protected status for Haitians landed in Haiti Thursday with more than 160 people.

The plane landed in Cap-Haitien instead of Port-au-Prince International Airport. The U.S. government currently has a ban on U.S. commercial flights to Haiti’s capital because of ongoing gang violence.

“It’s a very stressful situation,” said Pastor Adenet Medacier, whom we met at the Sant La Haitian community center.

He was picking up flyers with information for dozens of church members. He wants them prepared for what may be inevitable.

The flyers include information about what people should do if they receive a visit from ICE.

Medacier says some are being advised to put someone else’s name in their bank account.

Asked whether that makes it harder for law enforcement or ICE to do its job, he said they are not trying to interfere with ICE operations.

“We are not interfering with ICE or their operation. We are not. But what we are doing is what the Bible recommends. We have to help those who are in need.”

Back at Jacob’s salon, she’s concerned for her community and for her bottom line.

“I’m a little bit scared. The only thing I know is that God will take care of us.”

DHS has maintained it will continue to be out in communities like Little Haiti enforcing immigration law.

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