immigration - Haiti Observer Blog

Haitian Family Reunification Program begins in 2015. At the beginning of 2015 the Department of Homeland Security (DOHS) will begin the long-awaited Haitian Family Reunification Parole (HFRP) Program. It has been designed for designated, qualified Haitian relatives of U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents living in the U.S. as well.

The HFRP Program is an expedited process that will permit those who have petitioned for a family-based visa and been approved to come to the U.S. But a caveat applies: their priority dates must not exceed two years to receive the visas. As of now, under immigration rules an annual cap of 100,000 Haitians admitted to the U.S. is applied, so there are still many with approved petitions that are languishing on waiting lists that extend to over 12 years.

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The Obama administration has authorized U.S. Department of Homeland Security to start the Haitian Family Reunification Parole (HFRP) Program to fast-track reunification of qualified Haitian relatives of U.S. citizens. About 100,000 Haitians have applied for U.S. visas, but the HFRP Program restricts issuance to those with only a two-year wait. Upon arriving in the U.S. immigrants will qualify for a work permit, while waiting for a green card.

Advocates for immigrants have received news of HFRP Program's future implementation with pleasure, but as Executive Director of Americans for Immigrant Justice, Cheryl Little, commented she had hoped ". . . it wouldn't be as restrictive . . . in terms of which Haitians . . . are eligible to join their loved ones here, but . . . it's going to benefit a number of Haitian families, who have been waiting for this since the earthquake."

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According to U.S. anthropology professor Bertin Louis, the new policy on immigration that's to be effected by the Government of Bahamas from November 1. 2014, is clearly 'xenophobic' because it does not give any opportunity to claim asylum. Under the new immigration laws, the Government of The Bahamas will no longer accept any application of work visas from persons living in Bahamas illegally. In the middle of September, Foreign Affairs and Immigration Minister Frederick Mitchell has said that persons without any legal status will not be permitted to work in Bahamas anymore and those intending to do so will be will be arrested, charged and deported. Any foreigner living in the Bahamas must have a valid passport of own home country. The children of the immigrants (with population around 370,000), if can confirm their legal status of residence, will be allowed to live, attend schools, and work in the islands.

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Bahamian authorities are about to take a zero tolerance stance with their new immigration restrictions. Following a string of arrests spanning from August 19, 2014 to as recently as September 17, the government of the Bahamas is considering changes that will greatly impact the urge many Haitians have to flee to the more prosperous country.

The numbers are uncertain, but it was estimated in 2009 that there were about 50,000 illegal Haitian settlers in the Bahamas. Attempting the address that, the Bahamian Government may adapt measures that will make it harder for migrant workers to settle there. One new rule, which went into immediate effect, was that work permits will no longer be issued to those with an illegal status in the country. An illegal who applies for one will also be arrested and deported. Other measures being considered are a permanent ban on the bestowing of legal status to anyone who has ever been deported from the country and additional fees for any Haitians seeking permits to work in the Bahamas. They may also be required to make an in-person application at the Bahamas Embassy in Haiti. The possible changes have been presented to the Haitian ambassador in the Bahamas, and will be discussed with other Haitian officials.

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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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Haitian Nationals Free to Apply for Permanent Residency in Quebec

Quebec, Canada has received news from the federal government suspension of deportation back to Haiti of its nationals is no longer in effect. Minister of Immigration, Diversity, and Inclusion (MIDI), Kathleen Weil, spoke of the steps to be implemented in Quebec to aid Haitian nationals, who desire to make an application for permanent residence in Canada, predicated on humanitarian principles. The majority of Haitian nationals have chosen Quebec as their home, and it is the wish of Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) to facilitate the application process. CIC will collaborate with MIDI to give social service organizations, contracted by MIDI, the funding to advocate for Haitian immigrants going through the application process. Haitians, who are eligible to apply for permanent residency, will be given until June 2015 to file their applications.

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Human Rights Abuses Unnecessary to Enforce Immigration Law in the Bahamas

The Grand Bahamas Human Rights Association (GBHRA) has called the government of The Bahamas (GOB) new immigration policy illegal and immoral, formulated ". . . to strike fear into the Haitian-Bahamian population." Immigration officials are going into neighborhoods in the middle of the night where large communities of Haitians live, and indiscriminately hauling them off to detention centers. Only after they have been detained do officials check to see if immigrants are illegal or not. According to GBHRA President Fred Smith such treatment is a blatant transgression of a basic tenet of law: people are innocent until proven guilty.

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The Black Immigration Network (BIN) is fighting the Obama administration (OA) on its immigration policies. In 2010 a cataclysmic earthquake took 250,000 Haitian lives and caused displacement of many more millions from their homes. Families have been torn asunder, yet to be reunified. BIN has written Obama, pressing for the Department of Homeland Security (DOHS) to create and put into action a Haitian Family Reunification Parole Program. "The time to . . . reunite Haitian-Americans with . . . family members is now," the letter said in part.

A secondary issue is deportation of immigrants--387,000 of them--in the last five years. Just weeks after the quake, the OA deported 250-plus immigrants, some of whom were deathly ill. The Florida Center for Investigative Reporting discovered OA went against its policy of finding other ways to avoid deportation under life-threatening and humanitarian emergencies. DOHS has issued 110,000 visas for reunification of families, but people are on a waitlist, extending at least 12 years.

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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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Major policy shift announced by the Obama Administration toward Haitian Immigration in the US. On October 17, 2014, which is the day Haiti founding father Jean-Jacques Dessalines was assassinated in Pont Rouge, the Obama administration issued an executive Order approving the Haitian Family Reunification Parole program.

Beginning January 2015, U.S. Department of Homeland Security will implement a Haitian Family Reunification Parole (HFRP) Program to expedite family reunification for eligible Haitian family members. It is expected to cover over 5,000 Haitians currently living in Haiti.

Under this new Haitian Family Reunification Parole program, some people who have been waiting for years in Haiti will be allowed to travel and wait in the US instead for their legal status to be adjusted. While in the US, these people will be allowed to function and work legally.

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