PORT AU PRINCE, Haiti, CMC – The Haitian government says it is disappointed at the decision announced by United States President Donald Trump to implement with immediate effect a travel ban barring people from Haiti and 11 other countries from entering the US from Monday.
Trump on Wednesday banned people from Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen from entering the country. At the same time, he placed restrictions on travelers from Cuba, Venezuela, Burundi, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, and Turkmenistan.
In a statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, “This decision comes at a time when the Haitian government is striving, with the support of its international partners, to combat insecurity and strengthen border security.
“While taking into account the immigration policy measures adopted in the exercise of the sovereign rights of a foreign government, the Ministry draws attention to the danger posed by armed gangs, recently designated terrorist groups, to Haiti’s relations with other countries,” the statement said.
In a White House proclamation on Wednesday, Trump said, “The restrictions and limitations imposed by this proclamation are, in my judgment, necessary to prevent the entry or admission of foreign nationals about whom the United States Government lacks sufficient information to assess the risks they pose to the United States.
“The restrictions and limitations imposed by this proclamation are necessary to garner cooperation from foreign governments, enforce our immigration laws, and advance other important foreign policy, national security, and counterterrorism objectives,” Trump added.
With regards to Haiti, the proclamation states that “hundreds of thousands of illegal Haitian aliens flooded into the United States during the Biden administration,” adding that it “harms American communities.”
Trump had made the allegations against the Haitians during the campaign for the last presidential election, saying that they were eating domestic pets in a small Ohio without any form of proof.
“In Springfield, they are eating the dogs. The people who came in are eating the cats. They’re eating – they are eating the pets of the people that live there,” he said then.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that it is aware of the consequences of Washington’s decision on Haitian families, both within and outside the country, and is committed to working towards rapid solutions.
It notes that this measure takes effect on June 9, 2025, and prohibits entry to the United States for Haitian nationals, with certain exceptions such as lawful permanent residents of the United States, holders of valid visas issued before the effective date of the decision, diplomats and representatives of international organizations and specific humanitarian cases, including children adopted by American citizens.”
The Ministry stated that, in light of the “Los Angeles Declaration for Regular, Safe, and Orderly Migration” adopted at the 9th Summit of the Americas held in the United States in June 2022, the Haitian government intends to continue its dialogue and cooperation with Washington on security and migration policy.
Meanwhile, Republican Congressman Mike Lawler has spoken out against the ban. He is urging the Trump administration to reconsider the total suspension of entry to the United States for Haitian nationals.
He reiterated that the humanitarian crisis in Haiti, particularly the atrocities linked to gang violence, is reason enough to welcome this struggling Caribbean nation, not to reject its people categorically.
“Haiti’s disaster has been growing, and given our proximity to the nation and our historical interventions. We have a moral duty to help. Haitians cannot do it alone,” Lawler said in a statement.
“This travel ban will only deepen the suffering of Haitians, many of whom have strong ties to the US, including the vibrant Haitian diaspora in the Hudson Valley that I represent in Congress, and risks isolating Haiti further at a time when they need our support most.
” I strongly urge the Trump administration to immediately remove Haiti from this list, or at the very least, reduce it to a partial ban as was done for countries like Cuba and Venezuela,” Lawler said, recalling that last month, Secretary of State Marco Rubio declared that the Trump administration was “prepared to play a leading role” within the Organization of American States (OAS) and that the UN-authorized Multinational Security Support Mission “alone will not solve this problem…
“I urge the administration to move forward with such a leading role, including a potential security mission led by OAS to end the crisis and lead Haiti on a path to stability,” he added.
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