Showing posts with label Haiti. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Haiti. Show all posts

Wednesday, March 16, 2022

Rep. Pressley & Rep. Jones Demand Biden Administration End Title 42, Cease Deportations to Haiti

Today, Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07) and Congressman Mondaire Jones (NY-17) sent a letter calling on Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Rochelle Walensky to fully end Title 42, cease deportations of people to Haiti and affirm their legal and fundamental human right to seek asylum.

Their letter follows the Biden Administration’s recent suspension of deportation flights to Ukraine in recognition of the humanitarian crisis there and as the Administration hits a grim milestone of expelling over 20,000 Haitians– two-thirds of whom were forcibly removed under the Title 42 policy – despite the danger, instability and political violence on the island.

Read their letter below:

2022-03-15 Pressley Jones H... by George L. Cook III

Tuesday, September 21, 2021

Congressional Black Caucus Issues Statement on Treatment of Haitian Migrants

Congressional Black Caucus Chairwoman Joyce Beatty (OH-03) issued the following statement on the treatment of Haitian migrants at the U.S. Border:

“The images that we’ve seen over the last 24 hours are horrific and I share the outrage being expressed by Americans across the country. This sort of mistreatment is an affront to the very conscience of this nation, and it is absolutely unacceptable.

Beatty continued, “The Congressional Black Caucus has a long history of supporting our brothers and sisters across the Diaspora and we have pledged our support for the people of Haiti. To that end, I have called for an investigation into the actions of CBP and call on DHS Secretary Mayorkas to ensure that mistreatment and violence like this never happen again. The Congressional Black Caucus is actively monitoring developments and we are prepared to travel to the border to observe this situation ourselves. Treatment like this cannot be tolerated. ”

NAACP President and CEO, Derrick Johnson Statement on U.S. Border Patrol Attacking Haitian Refugees

NAACP President and CEO, Derrick Johnson, released the following statement regarding the images and videos of U.S. border patrol attacking Haitian refugees with whips:

This cruelty is utterly sickening. The events that took place today are all too familiar to those that are aware of America's ugly history. The actions we witnessed today were inhumane under the last administration, and that sentiment remains. No person fleeing poverty and hunger should be treated in this egregious manner. For far too long, the Haitian community has endured mistreatment at the hands of our nation. The administration has got to grant temporary protected status (TPS) to those seeking refuge. The actions of the U.S. border patrol are deplorable and should be investigated and reprimanded. Our country claims to be better than this — we must show it.

Rep. Maxine Waters statement on treatment of Haitians at the Texas border

Rep. Maxine Waters released the following statement on the cruel treatment of Haitian refugess at the Texas border:

Haitians fleeing violence & the lack of a credible government in Haiti are being treated like animals. U.S. government cowboys on horses used whips on Haitians as they sought refuge. Why are we following the Trump policies? This horrendous treatment of Haitians must STOP NOW.

Sunday, August 15, 2021

Naomi Osaka will donate prize money to Haitian earthquake relief efforts

Naomi Osaka has pledged to donate her earnings from next week's Western & Southern Open to support earthquake relief efforts in Haiti, the Caribbean nation her father hails from.

Thursday, January 25, 2018

NAACP sues Homeland Security over Haiti immigration policy



The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s decision to rescind the Temporary Protective Status (TPS) designation for Haitian immigrants discriminates against immigrants of color, in violation of the Fifth Amendment, according to a new lawsuit filed today on behalf of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) by the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund (LDF) in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland.
The lawsuit claims that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), former Acting DHS Secretary Elaine C. Duke, and current DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielson took irrational and discriminatory government action, denying Haitian immigrants their right to due process and equal protection under the Fifth Amendment.  The NAACP, acting on behalf of its Haitian members who are TPS protected, argues that DHS intended to discriminate against Haitian immigrants living in the United States because of their race and national origin.
“This is a simple case. Our democracy rests on the bedrock principle that every person is equal before the law. Governmental decisions that target people based on racial discrimination violate our Constitution,” said Sherrilyn Ifill, President & Director-Counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund, Inc. “The decision by the Department of Homeland Security to rescind TPS status for Haitian immigrants was infected by racial discrimination. Every step taken by the Department to reach this decision reveals that far from a rational and fact-based determination, this decision was driven by calculated, determined and intentional discrimination against Haitian immigrants.”
“The action by the Department of Homeland Security to rescind TPS status for Haitian immigrants is clearly racially motivated,” said Derrick Johnson, NAACP President and CEO. “The U.S. Constitution prohibits singling out certain immigrants for harsh treatment based on their skin color and/or ethnicity.  But more than that, basic fairness militates against this draconian action taken by DHS under the direction of President Trump.”
The lawsuit seeks to enjoin DHS’s November 2017 decision to rescind Temporary Protective Status for Haitian immigrants, as it reflects “an egregious departure from the TPS statute’s requirements and the intent to discriminate on the basis of race.” The lawsuit also asks the Court to declare that DHS violated the United States Constitution and the rule of law in rescinding the Haitian TPS, and to declare the action void and without legal force.
As evidence of the intent to discriminate, the lawsuit cites public reporting that DHS sought crime data on Haitians with TPS, as well as information on how many Haitian nationals were receiving public benefits. The lawsuit alleges that the Department’s efforts to gather this specific data on Haitian TPS designees “trades on false anti-Black stereotypes about criminality and exploitation of public benefits, and suggests the effort to manufacture a public safety rationale for the planned rescission.”
The complaint further alleges that President Trump’s public hostility toward immigrants of color was a contributing factor in the decision to rescind Haitian TPS. For example, in a recently reported White House meeting with several U.S. Senators, Trump disparaged a draft immigration plan that protected people from Haiti, El Salvador and some African countries, and noted his preference for immigrants from mostly white European countries.  Earlier in 2017, the President suggested that Haitians “all have AIDS,” upon learning that 15,000 Haitians had received visas to enter the United States. He reportedly asked, “Why do we need more Haitians?”
“It’s disheartening to see the Haitian community targeted and mistreated in this way, but it also is not surprising,” said Raymond Audain, Senior Counsel at LDF. “This decision reflects a shameful and persistent pattern of conduct by this Administration in which racial stereotypes drive policy decisions.
Haitian immigrants first received Temporary Protective Status in 2010 as part of the Department of Homeland Security’s efforts to assist the country after it was struck by a 7.0 magnitude earthquake, one of the deadliest earthquakes in history. Haiti’s TPS designations have been extended multiple times due to many factors, including multiple hurricanes and a cholera outbreak. On November 20, 2017, the DHS announced its plans to terminate temporary protective status for Haiti, which would go into effect in May 2019, ignoring bipartisan pleas to extend TPS designation for Haitian immigrants.
“Our great nation fought a civil war to establish the bedrock principle that the government may not discriminate against any person, whether citizen or non-citizen, based on that person’s race or ethnicity.  The NAACP stands ready to challenge any violation of that principle, as today’s action clearly demonstrates,” said Bradford M. Berry, General Counsel of the NAACP.
The full complaint can be read here.


Saturday, January 13, 2018

Maxine Waters Statement on Donald Trump’s Racist Slurs About Immigrants


Rep. Waters Statement on Donald Trump’s Racist Slurs About Immigrants


January 12, 2018 Press Release

LOS ANGELES – Congresswoman Maxine Waters (CA-43), Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee, released the following statement in response to Donald Trump’s comments on immigrants from what he referred to as “shithole countries” during an Oval Office meeting:

“Donald Trump is a racist and indecent man with no good values who is woefully unfit and undeserving of the office in which he serves. That this president, a deeply flawed human being with no understanding of public policy, would make such ill-informed and deplorable comments about Haitians, Salvadorans, and immigrants from African countries, merely underscores everything we already know about him: he is a hopeless and ignorant bigot.

“Donald Trump dog-whistled his way into the White House, running a campaign based on hate, bigotry, and fear. Upon taking his oath of office, he surrounded himself with alt-right white nationalists, such as Steve Bannon, Stephen Miller, and Sebastian Gorka, and nominated a well-known racist, Jeff Sessions, to lead his Department of Justice. One of his first actions as president was to institute a prejudicial and potentially unconstitutional ‘Muslim ban’, and since then, his administration has significantly increased its efforts to target minority communities and increase deportations. Furthermore, when the KKK, neo-Nazis, and white nationalist groups rallied and ultimately murdered an innocent woman in Charlottesville, he refused to rebuke them. While he won’t denounce white nationalists from our nation’s highest office, he has leveled attacks on journalists, athletes, private citizens, and even Members of Congress – many of whom, not coincidentally, are people of color.

“Donald Trump is crumbling under pressure from the ultra-right-wing conservatives. These radical conservatives elected Trump expecting him to use his presidential authority to deport thousands of innocent young people, many of whom were brought to this country as children and have since made positive contributions to our society. In true Trump-fashion, to compensate for his deficiencies and failure to grasp immigration policy, he has resorted to using an ignorant racial slur to denigrate people and countries about whom he knows nothing and for whom he has no care. Perhaps if these countries had white majorities, he might actually care about them. But they do not, and therefore he does not.

“What's even worse than his racist comment and divisive tactics, he is a hopeless liar who believes that he can make these comments in the presence of others -- as he has done in this recent meeting with Members of Congress involved in negotiations about DACA – and then deny them, which only adds to the 2,000 lies that he has already told since taking office that have been documented by the media.

“Donald Trump is an embarrassment and a national disgrace. Members of Congress have a responsibility to the American people and our democracy to impeach him.

“Justification for impeachment of this president includes the obvious obstruction of justice; continuing revelations about his associates and members of his family who have questionable contacts and connections to Russia; the alienation of our allies abroad; the attacks on the media and the 1st Amendment of the Constitution; the name-calling and attacks on his political opponents; the disrespect of women, including a U.S. Senator who he implied would do anything for a political contribution; and all of the disgraceful, untruthful, and disturbing actions by this president that continue to prove that he has no respect for our country’s most sacred values and traditions.

“No longer can Members of Congress, particularly Republicans, stand with such a dangerous, disturbed, and deceitful man who is a threat to everything for which America, the greatest democracy on earth, stands. Congress has a constitutional responsibility to impeach him without delay.”



Friday, January 12, 2018

NJ Gov-Elect Phil Murphy calls out Trump over racist remarks

I was fortunate enough to attend an event for NJ Gov-Elect Phil Murphy today and get this video. During a speech at the Newark Museum at an Inaugural Weekend kickoff event Democrat Phil Murphy called out Trump over his racist remarks. Watch those remarks below:

Wednesday, June 17, 2015

Dominican Republic looking to deport citizens of Haitian descent

While the world is worried about Rachel Dolezal or how much money Jurassic World is making, a plot to deport darker skinned people of Haitian descent from the Dominican Republic has been unfolding. Those in danger of being deported include those born in the Dominican Republic but stripped of their citizenship by a 2013 ruling from the Dominican Republic Constitutional Court ruled.

Hundreds of thousands of Haitian migrants and Dominicans of Haitian descent faced the risk of deportation from the Dominican Republic on Wednesday as a deadline for enforcement of a new immigration law approached.

Dominican officials say anyone lacking identity documents or who has not registered for a so-called "regularization" program before the Wednesday night deadline could face deportation.

The Dominican government says the changes to its nationality and immigration laws aim to tackle illegal migration from neighboring Haiti. Human rights groups say the move is rooted in longstanding racism and xenophobia in the Dominican Republic towards darker-skinned Haitians.

Read more: Haitians In Dominican Republic Fear Deportation As Deadline Looms