HAITI-RIGHTS-Groups call on U.S. administration to extend TPS for Haitians.

WASHINGTON, The United States government is being asked to extend and redesignate Haiti for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) in light of the French-speaking Caribbean Community (CARICOM) country’s “deteriorating security, governance, and humanitarian crises.”

In a letter sent to President Joe Biden, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, the Haitian Bridge Alliance (HBA) wrote that armed groups, many controlled by members of the Haitian government, are terrorizing Haiti’s capital with kidnappings and other violent crimes, which have spilled into cities across the country.

In the letter, which is also signed by 422 immigration, human rights, faith-based, and civil rights organizations, Washington is reminded that Haiti “has experienced a nationwide lockdown for several weeks, with roads and businesses blocked by barricades erected by armed groups.

“Civilians are being threatened, injured, sexually assaulted, or killed, and homes are being looted and burned by gang violence. The U.N. estimates that 1.5 million people, or nearly 50 percent of the capital’s population, are directly affected by gang violence, and 4.5 million need humanitarian assistance.”

In their November 22 letter, the groups said that since June 2021, more than 50,000 people have been displaced and forced to leave their homes due to violence.

They said the criminal gang blockade of Haiti’s principal fuel terminal crippled day-to-day activity throughout the country, paralyzing the economy, interrupting movement, and restricting essential supplies of food, medicine, and fuel for over two months.

“The inflation rate is 30 percent, the value of the Gourde dropped 32 percent from January to August 2022, and the price of food and gas has doubled, and in some cases increased ten-fold on the black market. According to a recent report by the U.N., 4.7 million people in Haitian nationals are facing acute hunger, including 19,000 in catastrophic famine conditions for the first time.”

The 13-page letter notes the resurgence of cholera cases in the country, with the Health Ministry estimating more than 121 deaths and 6,072 suspected cases.

“With a healthcare system on a dramatic decline and the population unable to access the few hospitals and clinics that are open due to shortage of gas and gang violence, the Pan American Health Organization warned that the real number of cases is likely much higher than those reported.”

The letter notes that all of the conditions leading to the Biden administration’s original TPS redesignation on May 22, 2021, the assassination of President Jovenel Moise on July 7, 2021, the August 14, 2021 earthquake and subsequent tropical storm, and the deteriorating crises, “make a safe return to Haiti completely impossible.”

In their letter, the groups say that the current TPS designation for Haiti will expire on February 3, next year, and by statute, the Secretary of Homeland Security must decide by December 5, 2022, if conditions meet requirements that prevent safe return and pose a serious threat to the personal safety of nationals of that country.

“Given the deteriorating security and humanitarian crises as described herein that present extraordinary and temporary conditions that make a safe return to Haiti impossible, the Administration should extend and redesignate Haiti for TPS.

“This will allow protection against removal and eligibility for work authorization to all eligible Haitians currently in the United States. Most Haitians who have entered the United States since the TPS eligibility date of July 29, 2021, crossed through as many as eleven countries on a dangerous and traumatic voyage in search of safety and security for their family.”
The group wrote that the current TPS recipients from Haiti in the United States, “many of whom have been here for decades and have children who are U.S. citizens, have also become essential to our economy and our morale as a country.”

“We request that the Biden administration redesignate Haiti for TPS, provide a minimum 180- day registration period for both current TPS holders and new beneficiaries under re-designation, and lead a public education campaign in English and Haitian Creole to inform impacted community members,” they wrote.