US deports Haitians amid surging gang violence
The Biden administration reportedly sent over 70 Haitians back to their homeland on April 18 amid the Caribbean nation's ongoing struggle with gang violence. The deportations were met with condemnation from human rights organizations, including the Haitian Bridge Alliance (HBA), which characterized the move as "intentional violence." The HBA and nearly 500 other rights groups sent a letter to the Biden administration on March 26 requesting an extension on the moratorium on deportations of Haitians. The letter also called for the White House to redesignate Haiti for Temporary Protected Status (TPS), a program for migrants from countries beset with armed conflict, allowing them to live and work in the US without fear of deportation. The letter reminded the administration of its "promise to build a fairer and more inclusive immigration and asylum system."
From Jurist, April 20. Used with permission.
UNICEF warns that Haiti's capital is blockaded
Haiti's capital is almost completely cut off by air, sea and land as gang violence intensifies, stopping aid from getting to 58,000 children with the most life-threatening form of malnutrition, the head of the UN children's agency warned April 22.
UNICEF executive director Catherine Russell said two-thirds of Haiti's children need aid, women and girls are being targeted with "extreme levels" of gender-based and sexual violence, and up to 50% of armed groups have children in their ranks.
"The situation in Haiti is catastrophic, and it grows worse by the day," Russell told the Security Council. "Port-au-Prince is now almost completely sealed off because of air, sea and land blockades." (Reuters)
US resumes deportation of Haitians to Port-au-Prince
The Biden administration has started to deport Haitians back to Port-au-Prince even as an extreme wave of brutal violence continues to force Haitians to flee their homes and an increasing number of Haitians are struggling to find enough to eat.
The 65 Haitians who quietly landed in Port-au-Prince on Sept. 26 marked the first deportation to the Haitian capital since flights were temporarily halted after an armed insurgency in late February. When they did resume in April, the Department of Homeland Security instead sent the Immigration and Customs Enforcement flights into Cap-Haïtien. (MSN)
The move comes as the Biden administration has decided not renew the temporary parole program that has allowed 530,000 migrants from Haiti, Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela to remain in the US. (IJR)