Deportation - Haiti Observer Blog

United States Government recently Issued Warning to Persons Wishing To Visit Haiti, at the same time is taking the position that the country is stable. On the one hand, U.S Department of State warning (dated May 22, 2017), all American citizens must carefully consider the risks of traveling to Haiti due to the country's current security environment and lack of adequate medical facilities. On the one hand, after granting an extension of six months, the U.S Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is now ready to repatriate more than 58,000 Haitian immigrants by January 22, 2018, because the DHS senior officials consider the present law and order situation in Haiti is "relatively stable".

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Now many members of the Haitian community in Canada can breathe a sigh of relief over the recent announcement by the new Canadian Government of Trudeau. As per the announcement dated December 11, 2015, confirmed by the Canadian Minister of Immigration John McCallum, Canada has suspended the earlier announced deportation of Haitian and Zimbabwean nationals. The Government Trudeau has reinstated a moratorium on deportation of these two nations who were feared of being deported to their native lands.

We may recall that in last December (2014), the former federal Conservative government lifted the moratoria on removals to Haiti and Zimbabwe. Those who were affected by the withdrawal, were informed to submit an application to the Canadian Council for Refugees on humanitarian and compassionate grounds before June 1, 2015, otherwise they could face forced deportation. As per the announcement, it was further communicated that the susceptible immigrants would not be deported before the last date of application or while awaiting the decision on their H&C applications.

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We just learned from Radio Vision 200 that Mr. Jacques Ketant just arrived in Haiti today, August 18, 2018. According to Mr. Valery Numa of Radio Vision 2000, Jacques ketant arrived at Toussaint Louverture Airport via an airplane and was among over 50 deported Haitians from the United States.

According to sources close to us, upon his arrival in Haiti, Ketant was taken to Haiti National Police to be fingerprinted and photographed as a normal procedure conducted to all Haitians returned as a result of deportation. He was then released to some family members.

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DR's Threat of Deportations causes Self-Deportations of Haitian Migrants

The Dominican Republic (DR), who has started to cave from the pressure put on it by the international community on the matter of mass deportations, has no plans to follow through on its ethnic cleansing of Haitian migrants and their descendants, born in the DR. But the explicit threat of deportations has caused thousands of Haitian illegals to leave the country and cross over to Haiti.

Since the expiration date of June 17th passed, and Haitian migrants can no longer apply for citizenship status, fear and anxiety dog their every waking moment. Although the DR seems to be complying with international law regarding mass deportations, it has managed to effect self-deportations under threats. They accomplished this by saying they would forcibly remove migrants, displaying buses dedicated to moving them out of the country.

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The Dominican Republic Back Peddles on Deportations due to International Pressure

The Dominican Republic (DR) has been forced to put a halt to deportations of Dominican-born Haitians and their migrant parents because of pressure from the international community (IC). A Constitutional Court ruling in 2013 no longer recognizes those of Haitian descent, and their right to citizenship, a violation of international law.

Bowing to the pressure the IC has placed on the DR government, its President, Danilo Medina, issued a decree to permit undocumented migrants and their descendants to apply for citizenship under the National Regularization initiative (NR). The program though has been badly administered, and has made applying to it a difficult process. By the program deadline of June 17th just 290,000 out of approximately 450,000 people submitted the necessary documents. What is worse, Haitian migrants, who cannot obtain legitimate documentation to get citizenship status, also cannot get their children documented either.

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On Thursday, June 18, during a press conference, Emmanuel Menard, the Director General of the National Old Age Insurance Office (ONA) has announced the creation of a solidarity fund (FONDSONA) valuing over 2 million gourdes for the expelled Haitians. The fund has been collected through voluntary contribution from the salaries of their employees to assist the repatriated Haitians from the Dominic Republic. The Director General of ONA has said he is proud of his employees' generous gesture and hopes other organizations to follow their steps. The Group "Haïti Chérie" (Dear Haiti), an entity in the Haitian private sector, has also announced the creation of a civic solidarity fund within the framework of upcoming repatriations of Haitian citizens. The fund initially consists an amount of one million gourdes. Moreover, this group has invited all national authorities to take necessary effective measures to improve the investment climate in the country.

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As per the Dominican government's recent announcement on June 17, 2015, tens of thousands of Haitians and several Dominicans of Haitian descent could be forced to leave the Dominican Republic. As per a controversial court ruling on October 2013, it was held that the children born to undocumented immigrants or who are not born of at least one parent with "Dominican blood" would be retroactively stripped of their citizenship since 1929. The decision left around a quarter of a million people effectively stateless. Haitians are 90% of the Dominican Republic's immigrants and 5.4% of the country's total population of whom only 10% have legal status.

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The Haitian Women of Miami staged a press conference outside their Miami offices on August 27, 2014 to test the theory that there is strength in numbers. The advocates would try to sway the immigration officials, who have in custody over a dozen Haitian migrants, to release a list of the names of those held. Speaking to the crowd at the event, the group's Executive Director, Marleine Bastien, said that the detainees needed to be given their right to due process.

The refugees were picked up days before as they tried to enter the United States through Hillsboro Beach. Information is scarce, but of the 20 migrants suspected to have set out, 19 have survived, 5 of whom are children. Desperate family members also were present at the press conference, holding up pictures of their loves ones, chanting along with the crowd for a stop to deportation and the release of the children in custody.

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New Bahamas enforcement policy illegal, immoral, said Fred Smith, (GBHRA)

The Perry Christie Bahamian government's new immigration policy is a barely concealed form of ethnic cleansing according to the Grand Bahamas Human Rights Association (GBHRA). It consists of a non-discriminatory process, in which immigration authorities conduct dragnets in the middle of the night in communities, in which large populations of Haitian descendents live. No effort is made to separate the innocent from the guilty until later, a blatant violation of human rights. GBHRA President Fred Smith charged the cattle-herding policy ". . . is unconstitutional . . . (and) they are breeding 'Haitian hatred', racism, and discrimination."

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In just 30 days, over 3,100 Haitians were deported from the Dominican Republic, a record taken from the Dajabon province only. This number shows that an estimated 100 to 150 people, most of whom are pregnant women, are deported from the territory every day after trying to gain illegal access into the country.

Women enter the Dominican Republic hoping to give birth there and have their children registered as a citizen of the more prosperous country, but this shows the high level of misinformation surrounding the National Plan for Regularization of Foreigners (PNRE).

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