Nearly 500 rights groups signed a letter on Wednesday urging the Biden administration to protect Haitian migrants from the rampant gang violence and corruption within the island nation. The groups requested a moratorium on deportations to Haiti and the extension and redesignation of Haiti for Temporary Protected Status (TPS).
The Haitian Bridge Alliance wrote the letter, and 481 rights organizations signed it. The letter cites Haiti’s “extreme insecurity” and inability to keep its citizens safe. The groups ask the US government to extend and redesignate Haiti for TPS, claiming such protection would help improve the quality of living for those residing in Haiti. The letter states, “TPS promotes recovery, development, and regional stability by preserving and increasing the flow of remittances to Haiti and directly into the pockets of people who can use the money for food, healthcare, housing, education, and other basic needs that will help decrease the flow of migration.” Haiti’s TPS designation is currently set to expire in August.
The groups also ask the US to indefinitely halt deportations to Haiti and release all detained Haitians. Since September 19, 2021, approximately 26,000 individuals have been returned to Haiti, and the groups claim such removals “undermine the administration’s promise to build a fairer and more inclusive immigration and asylum system for all and contribute to the destabilization of Haiti.”
There has been a significant increase in turmoil in Haiti since the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in July 2021. Gang violence and corruption have since led to severe human rights concerns and increased global attention. The groups stated in the letter that “[t]oday, in the absence of a functioning state, armed groups terrorize the population with systematic rape, indiscriminate kidnapping, and mass killing, all with impunity.”
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken noted such concerns in February, emphasizing the United States’ commitment to supporting Haitians, stating:
Gangs now control 80 percent of the capital, Port-au-Prince. Armed groups use sexual assault and rape to terrorize the population. The violence has also had the effect of blocking race and aid routes and shuttering schools. Criminal groups have cut off access to food, clean water, health care and electricity. Half the country is eating just one meal a day. Three million children need immediate humanitarian aid. The conflict is spreading north to Haiti’s breadbasket, threatening the food supply for the entire country.
An estimated 362,000 Haitians are internally displaced at the moment, with the Haitian government extending the state of emergency around Port-au-Prince earlier this month due to gang violence. The UN found that such violence has claimed 1,500 lives this year, stating that corruption and impunity must be immediately addressed to protect Haitian citizens.
While gang violence and corruption have significantly destabilized Haiti in recent years, the rights groups emphasize that such a crisis “was foreseeable and the outproduct of over 220 years of foreign intervention.” The letter states, “[s]ince Haiti abolished slavery and declared independence in 1804, colonial powers, including the United States, have tried to control and exploit the country through military force, neo-liberal economic policies, and political interference.” The groups request the US to address these root causes of Haiti’s crisis and allow Haitian refugees to seek protection safely.
