At the September meeting of the Immigration & Deportation Committee, the Executive Director of Haitian Bridge Alliance/HBA, Guerline Josef, talked about what is happening to Haitians after the President cancelled their Temporary Protective Status/TPS and their work permits. Haiti is at “level 4” according to advisories from the State Department: do not travel, not a safe place for travel designation. This is due to the risk of crime, kidnapping, terrorism, unrest and limited healthcare that is Haiti today. And yet, the U.S. government has decided to send half a million people back to this dangerous and malfunctioning country run by gangs. Deportation flights can't go to the international airport because it is now a military base, so they are dropped off in a small town far from the city. U.S. born citizen children in Haitian families are to be deported with their parents as the government is calling the family “undocumented”. A Haitian who might get paid $1-3,000 to self deport would then be at risk of kidnapping/killing; it gets more dangerous as word gets out. People who have been kidnapped in Haiti experience extreme trauma, mental health issues, suicide risk, etc. These days, for Haitians: Deport to Haiti=death; Stay in the USA=death. With increasing fear to leave their homes, people are unable to work, take their children to school, or purchase food and other necessities. Support meetings led by HBA have been cancelled and they are focusing on delivering food essentials to families. Some committee members are already helping out. Businesses, especially healthcare and meat packing, are hurting because so many essential workers had to quit. HBA is also working to get Congress to pass bills that would allow Haitians to stay here.
Asked about the history of Haiti and the U.S., Guerline gave a short summary: When Blacks became liberated in Haiti, this worried the US that their Blacks would also rise up and revolt! France, Haiti’s colonizer, demanded payment of large sums from Haiti. Haiti was the richest colony of Europe but now they are the poorest in the Western hemisphere. The Haitian National Bank held the riches of Haiti but then the U.S. took all their money, gold, etc. to form Citibank in the U.S. From 1915 on, the USA has always been involved in Haiti’s presidential elections. Today Haiti just has a Prime Minister, no more presidents and the Haitian leadership has always catered to the USA's wishes. Bill Clinton decided to destroy farming in Haiti to protect USA farmers and that led to years of famine in Haiti, destroying agrarian reform efforts.
If you would like to help, please contact Beryl Flom, berylflom@lwvsandiego.org