Mia Love, first Haitian American elected to Congress, has died. (Photo by Harry E. Walker/MCT/Sipa USA)
Mia Love, the first Haitian American and first Black Republican woman elected to Congress, has died following a battle with cancer. She was 49.
Love, a wife and mother who represented Utah as a two-term Republican lawmaker, died Sunday at her home in Saratoga Springs, south of Salt Lake City, surrounded by family, they said in an announcement on her X account.
“With grateful hearts filled to overflowing for the profound influence of Mia on our lives, we want you to know that she passed away peacefully,” her family said. “We are thankful for the many good wishes, prayers and condolences.”
Earlier this month, Love’s daughter, Abigale, announced that her mother had been fighting a brain tumor and was no longer responding to treatment. The cancer was progressing, she said, and “we have shifted our focus from treatment to enjoying our remaining time with her.”
Born Ludmya Bourdeau in Brooklyn, New York, in 1975 to parents who emigrated from Haiti, Love first won political office in 2003 when she was elected to a seat on the Saratoga Springs city council. She later became mayor of the city.
She ran for Congress, losing on her first attempt but won in 2014. She was the first Black Republican and the first Haitian American elected to Congress. While she didn’t emphasize her background when running for office, once there she demanded a right to be a part of the mostly Democratic Congressional Black Caucus, and fought for Haitians’ rights during the first administration of President Donald Trump before losing a bid at a third term in 2019.
In an op-ed published this month in the Deseret News, Love mentioned her battle coming to an end and offered a wish for America.
“As a mayor, member of Congress and media commentator I have seen the worst of petty politics, divisive rhetoric and disappointing lapses of moral character by some,” she wrote. “These same roles also provided me a front row seat and backstage pass to be blessed and inspired by the courage, vision and hope of America’s finest daughters, sons and citizens.”
Love’s entry into Congress was a moment of mixed emotions for Haitians, who initially were not sure whether her alignment with the Republican Party would be an asset, especially since she deflected questions about her parents’ immigration experience, and instead, spoke of them arriving with $10 and achieving success “through hard work and great sacrifice.”
“When tough times came they didn’t look to Washington, they looked within,” she wrote in her op-ed. “Because the America they knew was centered in self-reliance, the America I know is founded in the freedom self-reliance always brings.”
During her tenure in Congress, Love maintained her conservative position on a number of issues, but also tried to be a voice for Haitians as she also separated herself from Trump’s immigration policies.
In 2016, when the Trump administration launched an investigation into the criminal history of Haitians with Temporary Protected Status, Loved joined Congressional Black Caucus members in denouncing the move as a continuation of Trump’s efforts to promote a false stereotype of immigrants. She later joined over 70 members of Congress in urging an 18-month extension of Haiti’s TPS designation at the time.
In 2018, when Trump called Haiti a “shithole” country, Love also joined a number of current and former Haitian-Americans elected officials who spoke out.
“The president must apologize to both the American people and the nations he so wantonly maligned,” Love said.
During her time in office, Love visited South Florida, where she was well-received at a restaurant in North Miami, and she also traveled to Haiti, where she met with President Jovenel Moïse as part of a delegation of Haitian Americans.
