[ad_1]
Washington DC – Deportation to Haiti, retreat to Mexico or detention in the U.S. – these are the choices faced by more than 14,000 Haitian immigrants who camped Under the bridge Last week in Texas, USA, hoping to obtain asylum.
But while thousands of people have been expelled from the United States, and those who stayed face a similar fate, human rights organizations have stated that Haitian asylum seekers, many of whom are families with children, will continue to seek protection.
“This is not a deterrent measure, or even a Band-Aid solution,” Guerline Jozef, co-founder and executive director of the Haitian Bridge Alliance, an organization that helps Haitian immigrants, said of the U.S. deportation policy.
Joseph said Haitians are facing The worsening political and economic crisis In their home country, those deported may try to return to the US-Mexico border in the next few weeks, or return to another country along the way.
“They are destroying people’s lives and they know that if they survive the journey, the same people will come back,” Joseph told Al Jazeera.
Immigration advocates say that depriving Haitian migrants of their right to asylum and deporting them back to Haiti may violate international law [Mexico’s National Migration Institute/Handout via Reuters]‘Title 42’ expelled
To date, the U.S. has deported more than 6,000 immigrants to Haiti, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Tell CBS News, while an unknown number of others are still being detained by CBP, but most of them face deportation.
CBP did not respond to Al Jazeera’s request for comment in a timely manner.
Reuters also said Report This week, another 8,000 people feared being deported and returned to Mexico, where their fate is unclear.
The asylum seekers waded across the Rio Grande from Mexico into Texas, where they met. U.S. Border Patrol officer on horseback, Some of them used what appeared to be a rein to push them back to Mexico.
Immigration AdvocateAnd progressive Democratic leaders criticized the treatment of Haitian immigrants by the administration of US President Joe Biden, saying that depriving them of their asylum rights amounts to a violation of international law.
The Biden administration has always relied on the policies of the Trump era, called “Title 42” On the grounds of the coronavirus pandemic, most of the immigrants who arrived at the border of the country were immediately repatriated.
Human rights organization says They have higher expectations of BidenDuring his campaign, he promised to implement a more popular and humane immigration policy than his predecessor, Donald Trump.U.S. Envoy to Haiti Resign Deported in protest.
On September 19, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials tried to deter migrants crossing the Rio Grande from Mexico [Felix Marquez/AP Photo]“There are still Haitian immigrants going to the border through Mexico, and this will not stop,” said Breanne Palmer, director of interim policy and advocacy at UndocuBlack Network, which advocates for undocumented black immigrants in the United States.
“This is a critical moment for the Department of Homeland Security [DHS] And President Biden decides what kind of immigrant heritage he will lead,” Palmer told Al Jazeera.
On Thursday, the U.S. Court of Appeals ruled that the Biden administration-children who have been exempted from traveling alone from deportation under Section 42-can continue to deport immigrant families under this policy, while a lawsuit challenging the measure is ongoing.
Lee Gelernt, an attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union, said: “We are disappointed that Article 42 still exists while the appeal is in progress, but we will continue to fight in court and push Biden. The government abolished the policy.” The group that filed the lawsuit.
“The government has stated that it wants to take humanitarian action, and it is time for it to strengthen,” Gallente told Al Jazeera.
Haitian immigrants crossed the Rio Grande into the U.S. seeking asylum last month [File: Eric Gay/AP Photo]Crises occur at the same time
When Haiti was deported, the country was suffering from multiple crises. In July, President Jovenel Moise Assassinated A month later, a strong earthquake of magnitude 7.2 Being hit south.
Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry said in a speech to the UN General Assembly last week that inequality, poverty and conflict will remain the main drivers of immigration.
“Humans, fathers and mothers with children, always have to escape poverty and conflict,” he said. “As long as there are these two wealthy regions on the planet, migration will continue, and most of the world’s population lives in poverty, even extreme poverty, without any prospects for a better life.”
But many Haitian asylum seekers who arrived at the US-Mexico border last month left Haiti a few years ago after the 2010 earthquake destroyed most of the island.Many people have moved to Chile or Brazil to find work, while others have been Lived in Mexico for many years Waiting for the opportunity to apply for asylum in the United States.
Since September 19, 57 deportation flights have left the United States for the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince and the northern coastal city of Cap-Haiti. Nicole Phillips, the legal director of the Haitian Bridge Alliance, stated that there are no buses from the airport. The deportees went to town.
“We call for an immediate cessation of deportations and deportations because Haiti cannot receive them,” Phillips told Al Jazeera. “Logistically, Haiti does not have the infrastructure to receive such a large number of deportations.”
Mexico recently expelled 70 Haitians, including 13 children, on a flight to Port-au-Prince [Ralph Tedy Erol/Reuters]On Friday, the Bahamas and Cuban authorities said they stopped Hundreds of Haitians Those who are trying to reach the United States by sea on a ship. Officials from both countries have stated that they will be sent back to Haiti.
Phillips said that at the same time, hundreds of Haitians returning to Mexico have been living in the refuge in the northern city of Acuna. She added that many other people traveled by plane or bus to the southern city of Tapachula, which borders Guatemala, and immigration groups said that if they leave, they will be at risk of being detained.
Earlier this week, Mexico turned an Olympic stadium in Tapachula into an asylum processing center. But the country’s Commission for Refugee Assistance (COMAR) has been overwhelmed by asylum applications, and the process is fraught with delays.
on Wednesday, Mexico expels 70 HaitiansIncluding 13 children, took a flight to Port-au-Prince as part of what it called “assisted voluntary return.” Expect more flights in the coming weeks.
Mexican President Andres Manuel López Obrador said last week: “We don’t want Mexico to be an immigration camp. We want to solve the fundamental problem, that is, people will not be forced to emigrate.”
Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry met with the U.S. delegation on Friday [Joseph Odelyn/AP Photo]‘flame’
Back in the U.S., Biden once said that the border patrol agents who made charges against immigrants would “Giving” for them, And the Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas said Investigate quickly It will end soon.
Pro-immigrant groups welcomed the condemnation, but said the images were a stark example of anti-black and anti-immigrant sentiment Still prevailing Between border enforcement agencies.
Palmer said: “No matter where black people go, there will be people who devalue our humanity and our ability and rights to seek asylum and seek asylum.”
“Many black immigrants are dealing with multiple experiences, usually involving violence, injury discrimination, and closing doors,” she told Al Jazeera. “We are in a unique position because we are very visible, but we are also invisible.”
At the same time, Jozef stated that her organization cannot reach Haitian immigrants still detained by CBP, nor can it provide them with legal or language assistance.
On Thursday, the Court of Appeal ruled that the Biden administration can continue to deport immigrant families under Article 42 [Edgard Garrido/Reuters]Joseph stressed that as the situation in Haiti continues to deteriorate, more people will flee to seek protection, safety, and work. Most of them will flee to neighboring countries in Latin America. The U.S. approach to Haitian immigrants has established an important example.
“While the world is concerned about how the United States treats little black girls and little black boys who seek safety and protection and their parents – they not only destroy lives by deporting them and sending them to Haiti – they also Promote and give all other countries that Haitians request support,” Joseph said.
“They are actually creating a system that does not allow Haitians to enter in any space.”
[ad_2]
Source link