A mission led by a United States congressman rescued the author Mitch Albom and several other Americans from Haiti early Tuesday as the Caribbean nation faces violent upheaval.

Mr. Albom, who wrote “Tuesdays With Morrie” and “The Five People You Meet in Heaven,” said in a statement that he and a group from Have Faith Haiti, an orphanage he runs in Port-au-Prince, were evacuated after sheltering in place since a state of emergency was declared in the country this month.

Representative Cory Mills, a Florida Republican and a U.S. Army veteran, led the mission in coordination with Representative Lisa McClain, a Michigan Republican. Mr. Albom lives in the Detroit area.

The rescue came as a humanitarian crisis rapidly unfolds in Haiti amid the country’s worst political upheavals in years.

Mr. Albom has been involved with the Haitian orphanage for more than a decade, and visits for a week once a month, Ms. McClain said in an interview. In his statement, Mr. Albom said saying goodbye to the children “was horribly difficult.”

“I had a responsibility to bring home 8 wonderful volunteers who were working with us,” he wrote. “But my wife’s and my hearts ache for our kids still there.”