The longtime partner of former North Miami mayor Philippe Bien-Aime has been detained by U.S. immigration authorities as federal officials pursue efforts to revoke his American citizenship.
Online detention records show that Sarahjane Ternier, Bien-Aime’s partner and the mother of three of his children, is currently being held at the Broward Transitional Center. Ternier, who is originally from Haiti, was arrested Wednesday in Miami by agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, according to the Miami Herald.
An ICE spokesperson told the newspaper that Ternier’s arrest is related to a final deportation order issued on July 31, 2000. Records show she entered the United States on June 12, 1994. Her appeal of the deportation order was dismissed on Oct. 23, 2002, by the Board of Immigration Appeals. She will remain in ICE custody pending removal from the United States.
Court records indicate that Ternier also previously faced legal trouble related to immigration documents. A criminal complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York states that on Feb. 14, 1997, she attempted to enter the United States at the Champlain Port of Entry on the Quebec–New York border using a fake Canadian identification card. After officers discovered a Haitian passport bearing her name and photograph in the vehicle she was traveling in, authorities said she admitted her true identity.
According to the complaint, Ternier told officers she was traveling to Florida to obtain what she described as “an illegal residence” and to look for work in the United States. She later pleaded guilty to possessing an identification card with intent to defraud the U.S. government. Court records show she received a two-day jail sentence, listed as time served, and was ordered to pay a $225 fine and a special assessment.
Ternier’s detention comes as federal authorities pursue a civil case seeking to strip Bien-Aime of his U.S. citizenship. In February, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and the U.S. Department of Justice filed a denaturalization complaint in federal court in Miami alleging the Haiti-born politician obtained citizenship through fraud.
According to the complaint, Bien-Aime — also known as Jean Philippe Janvier — used two identities to obtain immigration benefits after illegally entering the United States with a fraudulent, photo-switched passport. Authorities say fingerprint comparisons later confirmed the use of the two identities as part of a national initiative known as the Historic Fingerprint Enrollment project.
Federal officials allege Bien-Aime was placed in removal proceedings in 2001 under the Janvier identity and ordered deported. Although he initially appealed the order, prosecutors say he withdrew the appeal while claiming he had returned to Haiti, but instead remained in the United States.
Investigators say he later used a different name and date of birth to marry a U.S. citizen and obtain permanent resident status before becoming a naturalized U.S. citizen in 2006.
The complaint alleges the marriage used to obtain immigration benefits was fraudulent because Bien-Aime was already married to a Haitian citizen at the time. Authorities also say he made multiple false statements during immigration and naturalization proceedings, including denying that he was subject to a removal order and providing misleading information about his children and past addresses.
Federal prosecutors are seeking to revoke Bien-Aime’s citizenship, arguing that it was illegally obtained through fraud and misrepresentation.
