Deportation

As violence in Haiti increases, there is talk of whether Port-au-Prince may fall entirely to the gangs.  The Multinational Security Support Mission, deployed too late and with two few members, has been unable to bring stability in Port-au-Prince or beyond.  Despite this, deportation of Haitians to Cap-Haitien continue.  Doing so has overwhelmed the city and put the lives of deportees at risk regardless of whether they stay, travel on roads frequented by bandits, or transit through Port-au-Prince which is primarily controlled by gangs.  Haitians, not for the first time, feel abandoned by the international community.

When the United States deports Haitians, they are sent to Cap Haitien in the north.  Women and children are afraid to take the road to Port-au-Prince where they may be raped by bandits.  Port-au-Prince remains extremely dangerous to transit though given that the vast majority of the city, despite the presence of a multi-national security force, is controlled by gangs.   Many deportees sleep rough in Cap Haitien knowing that their lives are at at risk if they leave.  The Cap Haitien municipality  does not have the resources to support them.  Faith based groups, a labor union, and several Haitians are sueing the United States over these deportations which were a  human rights violation under the Biden Administration just as it is under the Trump Administration now.  View the full article linked and below for more information. 

The United Nations emphasizes that Haiti is in a dire situation and now is not the time to deport Haitians. The majority of deportations take place from the Dominican Republic with neither due process nor advance notice to the Haitian authorities responsible for receiving them. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) reports 154,333 Haitians were expelled by the Dominican Republic last year - about 87% of all deportations to Haiti in 2022.  It is true that insecurity in Haiti affect the Dominican Republic as well - but conducting mass deportations only makes a bad situation worse - politically, economically, and for human rights. The full article by Jacqueline Charles of the Miami Herald follows. 

Repected Haitian-American author Edwidge Dandicat writes in the Miami Herald op-ed below that the United States is endangering Haitians and communities in Haiti by deporting them regardless of their health status.  More than 100 Immigrants’ rights organizations, faith-based groups, academic institutions across the United States and Haiti, have sent a letter to the Trump administration, the Department of Homeland Security and ICE, urging them to stop the deportations and find community-based alternatives to detention that will prevent the spread of COVID-19.  For members of the Haitian Diaspora and friends of Haiti, now is the time to contact your representatives and senators.  Haiti's political and health care systems are much too fragile right now to deal with a major epidemic.  The end result is that people will lose their lives.   

The Trump Administration has announced it will end Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haitians in 2019 meaning they must return by then or face deportation.  While such status is meant to be temporary, Haitians have integrated, are working, and part of their American communities.  It is clear that the Haitian government does not have the capacity to reintegrate tens of thousands of its citizens - particularly given the impact of Hurricane Matthew and the ongoing cholera outbreak.  This could further destablise Haiti. The full article the Miami Herald's Jacqueline Charles follows.