Trump Posts Surveillance Footage of Fatal Hammer Attack, Calls for End to Haitian TPS
Trump posted graphic surveillance video on Truth Social of a fatal hammer attack at a Fort Myers gas station, using the case of a Haitian immigrant charged with murder to demand an end to TPS -- two and a half weeks before the Supreme Court hears the case.
President Trump shared surveillance footage on Truth Social on the evening of April 9 showing a woman being beaten to death with a hammer at a gas station in Fort Myers, Florida, calling the Haitian immigrant charged in the killing an "animal" and demanding an end to Temporary Protected Status for Haitians.
"An Illegal Alien Criminal from Haiti, who was released into our Country by the WORST President in History, Crooked Joe Biden, and the Radical Democrats in Congress, just beat an innocent woman to death with a hammer at a gas station in Florida. The video of her brutal slaying is one of the most vicious things you will ever see."
Trump called for courts to stop blocking his TPS termination:
"This one killing should be enough for these Radical Judges to STOP impeding my Administration's Immigration Policies, and allow us to END THIS SCAM ONCE AND FOR ALL."
The post continued with a broader attack on Democratic immigration policy, calling on Americans to "NEVER FORGET that Joe Biden and the Democrat Party turned the United States of America into a dumping ground" and warning that "if the Democrats are ever given another chance at power, they will immediately REOPEN the Border." X removed copies of the video for violating its policy against graphic violence.
The 20-second surveillance clip Trump attached to his post:
The post comes two and a half weeks before the Supreme Court hears oral arguments on April 29 in Trump v. Miot (No. 25-1083), the administration's challenge to lower court rulings that blocked its termination of TPS for more than 350,000 Haitians.
The Case
The Department of Homeland Security had already publicized the killing three days before Trump's post. In an April 7 press release, DHS announced that ICE assisted the Fort Myers Police Department in arresting Rolbert Joachin, 40, a Haitian national charged with first-degree murder.
The victim, Nilufa Easmin, 51, was a Bangladeshi immigrant and gas station clerk, and a mother of two. Surveillance footage showed Joachin smashing her car windshield, approaching her, and repeatedly hitting her in the head with a hammer in broad daylight on April 3.
Fort Myers police requested ICE assistance and together located Joachin on Mango Street in Fort Myers. He reportedly confessed to the killing.
Immigration Timeline
According to DHS, Joachin entered the United States by boat on August 6, 2022, and was arrested by U.S. Border Patrol. A federal judge issued a final order of removal against him that same year. The Biden administration subsequently granted him Temporary Protected Status, which expired in 2024.
"This heinous murderer was RELEASED into the country by the Biden administration. Not only did the Biden administration release him into the country, but they then gave him Temporary Protected Status. Their reckless immigration policies cost this woman her life," said Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis in the DHS statement.
ICE has lodged a detainer against Joachin. DHS said he will be deported regardless of the outcome of the criminal case.
The Supreme Court Case
DHS Secretary Kristi Noem announced in November 2025 that the government intended to terminate Haiti's TPS designation effective February 3, 2026, determining that "there are no extraordinary and temporary conditions in Haiti that prevent Haitian nationals from returning in safety."
Federal courts blocked the termination. A district court ruled the decision was likely "arbitrary and capricious," noting that Haiti remained "a nation deep in crisis." A federal appeals court upheld the injunction, and the Supreme Court granted certiorari on March 16, consolidating the Haiti case (Trump v. Miot) with the Syria TPS case (Noem v. Doe, No. 25-1084) for argument on April 29.
The Haiti TPS designation currently provides lawful status and protection from removal for approximately 353,000 people. A decision is expected by late June or early July.
Joachin is being held without bond in Lee County. His arraignment is scheduled for May 4.