‘People will always come’: Inside a Haitian’s journey without end

The scene has played out over and over again at the southern border since January: Cross the river, find a shaded spot and wait for Border Patrol to arrive so you can surrender. The difference this time was tens of thousands of people followed the script at a scale and magnitude no one imagined or was ready for.

Among them is a young Haitian named Paulnick “Nicko” Archelus, 28, and the woman he met on the journey, Nayou Jean-Pierre, who is 25. Nicko and Nayou were among the many to...