By: Mackenzie Steele
On January 12, 2010, a 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck Haiti, leaving the country devastated and leading to a chain of human rights violations.[i] The human toll was approximately 316,000 deaths and approximately 1 million people were displaced.[ii]
On January 6, 2011, multiple organizations joined together to file an emergency petition for precautionary measures with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) to halt roundups, detention, and imminent deportations of Haitian nationals by the United States government.[iii] The next day, the United States proceeded to deport 27 men to Haiti – one of the men, Wildrick Guerrier, demonstrated cholera-like symptoms and died only a week after deportation from the U.S.[iv]
In response to the ongoing deaths and health-risks, on February 4, 2011, the IACHR granted to request to stop deportations to Haiti.[v] Unfortunately, the halt of deportations only lasted for approximately two months, continuing again in April 2011.[vi] The policy called for “limited removal of criminal aliens with a focus on serious offenders such as violent felons”; this applied to Haitian nationals “with a final order of removal who pose a threat to the public safety given their previous serious criminal offense or history”.[vii] Threats to public safety were deemed to include convictions of “homicide, rape, sexual assault, robbery, sex offense against children, aggravated assault, assault, kidnapping, false imprisonment, sale of cocaine, smuggling of cocaine, sale of marijuana, and larceny”.[viii] ICE stated, however, that “where there are compelling medical, humanitarian, or other relevant factors, supervised release or other alternatives to detention programs may be appropriate”.[ix]
Unfortunately, conditions have not improved since 2011 and the current U.S. administration continues to deport a record number of Haitian immigrants.[x] From January 1, 2021, through February 16, 2022, 35,765 people were expelled or deported to Haiti.[xi] A survey conducted in January and February showed that 69% of 383 returnees did not feel safe in Haiti – of those interviewed, 84% wanted to leave the country again because of the economic and security crisis.[xii] The country now faces gang violence, a lack of organized government, and a nonfunctioning justice system.[xiii]
Once returned to Haiti, deportees face housing insecurity and unemployment, health vulnerabilities, heightened risks for women and LGBTQ+ deportees, and family separation.[xiv] Haiti has suffered a cholera outbreak that disproportionately impacts those living in areas without clean water and functioning sanitary systems, along with the elderly and children.[xv] Those returned for criminal records face social marginalization and discrimination, false accusations to police, and police abuse just because they are deportees.[xvi]
The jails for deportees have a long history of abusing people in their custody.[xvii] They are also overcrowded, poorly maintained, and unsanitary.[xviii] They have a lack of access to clean water which leads to a lack of basic hygiene, malnutrition, poor quality health care, and illness.[xix] There have been up to 60 or 80 deportees in one cell at a time, where they have to sleep on the floor, are not provided ventilation or sunlight, are infested with bugs, and are covered in human waste.[xx] Haitian authorities extort large sums of money from deportees and their families in exchange for release or security, as a result of corruption.[xxi]
One of the causes of these increased deportations to Haiti is Title 42, enacted under the Trump administration.[xxii] Title 42 implicated the right to seek asylum to individuals who arrive at our southern border and ask for protection – it largely suspended this right beginning in March 2020.[xxiii] Starting then, migrants seeking a better life in the U.S. and wanting to apply for asylum have been expelled back to their home countries.[xxiv] The Title was supposed to be terminated in May 2022 however, it was blocked by a federal court in Louisiana, so it remains in effect today.[xxv] The debate is still ongoing as a federal judge put on hold his ruling striking down Title 42 on November 16, 2022.[xxvi] The rule striking down Title 42 is currently on hold until midnight December 21, 2022 – if ended, it could restore the much-needed access to asylum for migrants.[xxvii]
Deported Haitian immigrants face violations to human rights, including the right to life, the right to be free from torture, the right to asylum, right to freedom from discrimination, right to be free to choose and accept work, right to an adequate standard of living, right to health, right to freedom from hunger, and more. The U.S. must stop deportations to Haiti and end Title 42 to respect Haitian immigrants’ basic human rights.
[i] See Massive earthquake strikes Haiti, History (July 18, 2022), https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/massive-earthquake-strikes-haiti
[ii] Id.
[iii] See Stop Deportations to Haiti, University of Miami School of Law, https://www.law.miami.edu/academics/experiential-learning/clinics/immigration/projects/stop-deportations-haiti/index.html
[iv] Id.
[v] Stop Deportations, supra note iii
[vi] Aftershocks: The Human Impact of U.S. Deportations to Post-Earthquake Haiti, University of Miami School of Law (February 12, 2015), https://issuu.com/miamilaw/docs/immigration_clinic_haiti_reportat vi.
[vii] Id at 4.
[viii] Id.
[ix] Id at 6.
[x] See Haitians Being Returned to a Country in Chaos, Human Rights Watch (March 24, 2022), https://www.hrw.org/news/2022/03/24/haitians-being-returned-country-chaos
[xi] Id.
[xii] Id.
[xiii] Id.
[xiv] Id, x-xii.
[xv] Id at 1.
[xvi] Aftershocks, supra note v, at 16.
[xvii] Id at 18.
[xviii] Id.
[xix] Id at 19.
[xx] Id.
[xxi] Id at 20.
[xxii] See A Guide to Title 42 Expulsions at the Border, American Immigration Council (October 15, 2021), https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/research/guide-title-42-expulsions-border
[xxiii] Id.
[xxiv] Id.
[xxv] Id.
[xxvi] See Federal judge blocks Title 42 rule that allowed expulsion of migrant s at US-Mexico border puts order on hold for 5 weeks, CNN (November 16, 2022), https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/15/politics/title-42-migrants
[xxvii] Id.
Absolutely brilliant. Thank you for speaking on this!