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Haitian Crisis

Haitian Crisis

The United States is currently turning away Haitian refugees who are fleeing a humanitarian crisis and seeking to legally gain asylum in the U.S. under international law.

The Issue

Haitian refugees are fleeing a humanitarian crisis, worsened by gang violence, a cholera outbreak, and resource blockades, but face harsh treatment in the U.S., including deportation under Title 42, detention, and denial of asylum rights.

Cómo puedes ayudar hoy

Apoya a las organizaciones sin fines de lucro que defienden y ayudan a los refugiados haitianos.

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GEM trabaja como primer respondedor para el socorro en casos de desastre, cierra la brecha entre la primera respuesta y el desarrollo, e implementa prácticas para garantizar el desarrollo sostenible.

Haitian Bridge Alliance aboga por políticas de inmigración justas y humanas y conecta a los migrantes con servicios humanitarios, legales y sociales.

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Las fundaciones nacionales y regionales y los programas temáticos otorgan miles de subvenciones cada año para construir democracias inclusivas y vibrantes.

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HAUP brinda apoyo a través de la educación, la capacitación, la cultura, las oportunidades de creación de redes y otros servicios de apoyo que permiten que la comunidad se adapte y prospere con éxito.

The Crisis in Haiti

  • Since Haiti’s former President Jovenel Moise was assassinated in July of 2021, Haiti has been experiencing a dire security situation.

  • The government has lost control over strategic areas to the hands of dangerous armed gangs.

  • These powerful gangs blockaded fuel terminals, cutting off communities from resources like water and medicine, while killing, kidnapping, and robbing Haitian residents. 

  • After more than three years without Cholera cases, a new outbreak started in October 2022. Without clean water and facing widespread hospital shut downs, the country has few resources to prevent Cholera from spreading. 

  • Returns to Haiti are life-threatening, and will continue to be so, until security conditions in Haiti improve. 

"Refuge" in the United States

  • Under international and U.S. law, Haitian’s faced with the humanitarian crisis may seek asylum in the U.S. The U.S. has welcomed Ukrainian asylum seekers while detaining and expelling thousands of Haitian asylum seekers. ​

  • In 2021, video of border Patrol agents beating and trampling Haitian asylum seekers as they tried to cross the Rio Grande surfaced.   

  • Instead of planning to help asylum seekers resettle, the White House is considering incarcerating Haitians seeking safety in Guantanamo Bay or forcing them to wait in a third party country.  

  • Haitian asylum seekers continue to face danger in Haiti and racism in the U.S., where they are denied just and equal access to our immigration process, detained in terrible conditions, and subjected to abuse by CBP.  

  • Under Title 42, the Trump and Biden Administrations have conducted mass deportations of Haitian immigrants without providing them a meaningful opportunity to seek asylum.  

  • Haitian asylum seekers are currently being detained in ICE facilities or in encampments at the U.S.-Mexico border. 

  • The Biden administration has taken minimal steps to protect Haitian asylum seekers, but not nearly as many as are needed. Reinstatement of the Haitian Family Reunification Parole Program, investigation into the abusive Border Patrol agents, and improvements to the asylum process help, but many policies and practices remain that target and harm Haitian asylum seekers.

Action Plan

Calling upon the Biden administration and DHS to implement the following policies and practices: ​

  • ​Commit to never incarcerating Haitian, or any, asylum seekers in Guantanamo Bay. 

  • Grant humanitarian parole to Haitian asylum seekers and ensure that they are not forced to wait in a third country or incarcerated while their asylum case is pending. 

  • Ensure that Haitian asylum seekers are not targeted under Title 42, metering policies, or interdiction for exclusion. 

  • Release Haitian immigrants from detention in ICE facilities and from the unsafe, abusive conditions in the encampments at the border. 

  • Ensure that Haitian asylum seekers are provided a fair and just credibility screening and fair access to the court process, including translation services. 

  • Monitor and address disparities in the immigration system, including detention, bond, and denial of asylum. 

  • Halt all deportation to Haiti; grant Deferred Enforced Departure to people from Haiti. 

  • Ensure that Haitian individuals interdicted outside the border are provided a fair opportunity to request asylum and access the asylum process. 

  • Redesignate and extend TPS for Haiti so that recent asylum seekers can be protected. 

  • Support Haiti in rebuilding a safe and healthy democracy without unnecessary U.S. military intervention.

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