Hundreds of organizations asked President Joe Biden on Tuesday to expand immigration protections for Haitians already in the United States and indefinitely suspend deportations to Haiti as extreme gang violence continues to ravage the island's capital and threatens to topple the government.
In a letter spearheaded by the San Diego-based Haitian Bridge Alliance, 481 groups asked the White House to extend Haiti's Temporary Protected Status -- a policy that protects from deportation and offers work permits to people in the U.S. who have come from countries in turmoil -- so more Haitians can benefit from the federal program.
"Moving forward, the United States must address the root causes of Haiti's security and humanitarian crisis. The U.S. government should not only let Haitians come together to make their way out of the current crisis but also provide ways for Haitian refugees forced to flee to safely seek protection," says the letter, which is also addressed to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and State Department Secretary Anthony Blinken.
The letter joins growing calls to protect Haitians both at home and abroad. Earlier this month, an alliance of gangs declared their intention to overthrow Prime Minister Ariel Henry. Gangs in Port-Au-Prince have killed cops, taken over police stations, attacked the international airport and wealthy enclaves and broken out thousands of inmates from Haiti's prisons. Henry has agreed to step down once an international coalition finalizes who will be part of a transitional government to lead Haiti. But most of the capital is under criminal control, and at least 33,000 people have fled to other parts of the country.
"Today, in the absence of a functioning state, armed groups terrorize the population with systematic rape, indiscriminate kidnapping, and mass killing, all with impunity," said the letter from the organizations.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection at the U.S-Mexico border has registered more than 158,000 encounters with Haitian nationals since December 2022. However, one person can have more than one encounter, and the figure does not include Haitians who arrived on Florida's and Puerto Rico's shores. The Miami metro area is home to the biggest Haitian population in the country.
On March 18, 67 U.S. senators and representatives also asked Mayorkas and Blinken to expand the protected status and stop the return of Haitian migrants while dangerous conditions continue at home. Democratic Reps. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Frederica Wilson were among those from Florida's congressional delegation who signed that letter.
"These actions will prevent further suffering and unnecessary loss of life," the letter from the U.S Congress members says.
In response to Miami Herald questions about whether Homeland Security is considering redesignating TPS for Haiti, an agency spokesperson said earlier this month the agency is "monitoring the situation in Haiti and coordinating closely with the State Department and international partners." Mayorkas has the authority to designate countries for the program.
EXPANDING TPS FOR HAITIANS
The letter from the advocates, which includes faith-based groups, immigration-rights organizations and legal clinics and service providers, argues that expanding TPS would promote stability and development in Haiti because people who come to the U.S. would send money home to their loved ones. They ask that Homeland Security stop deportation flights and at-sea repatriations, which immigration rights activists have previously asked the Biden administration to do.
"Granting TPS protection for Haitians will have impact in the U.S. too, because (Haitian migrants) will be able to work and invest in the economy and the community," said Guerlin Jozef, the co-founder and director of Haitian Bridge Alliance.
The organizations also asked for expanded legal pathways for Haitians to reduce irregular migration, including speeding up family reunifications and removing the monthly limit on how many people are accepted through a Biden administration parole program for Cuba, Haiti, Venezuela and Nicaragua. The parole program allows a total of 30,000 people each month from the four countries to live and work in the United States for two years as long as they have a financial sponsor, pass background checks, clear medical requirements and purchase their airfare.
Earlier this month, the Coast Guard repatriated 65 Haitian migrants intercepted in The Bahamas. The crisis in Haiti has fueled concerns that Florida and Puerto Rico could see a wave of Haitian migration by sea. However, the Homeland Security spokesperson said that irregular migration in the Caribbean remains low. Immigration officials have emphasized the dangers of illegal journeys, which often end in the death of migrants. Current government policy is to send people caught at sea back if they don't have a fear of persecution or torture, or a way to legally enter the U.S.
The United Nations' refugee agency recently issued new guidance on how governments can protect fleeing Haitians, including access to temporary immigration relief, humanitarian visas and family reunification programs. It also emphasized that journalists, activists, judges and "others fighting corruption and crime" should be among those considered for refugee protections.
The U.N. agency "reminds States of the imperative to ensure Haitians who may need international refugee protection receive it. We also reiterate our call to all States to not forcibly return people to Haiti, including those who have had their asylum claims rejected," Elizabeth Tan, director of the agency's Division of International Protection, said in a statement.
The U.S. designated Temporary Protected Status for Haiti after the devastating 2010 earthquake that killed more than 300,000 people. Former President Donald Trump moved to terminate the program for the island and for other countries, a policy shift that was challenged in the federal courts.
The Biden administration expanded the program to include Haitians who were in the U.S. before August 2021, following the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in his home on the hills above Port-au-Prince. The administration later moved that cutoff date to November 2022 so more newly arrived migrants could benefit from the program.
Between Oct. 1 and Dec. 31, 2023, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services had approved over 30,000 TPS applications for Haiti and had roughly another 75,000 others pending, according to federal government data. In the fiscal year for 2023, the agency approved nearly 121,000 TPS applications for Haitian nationals.