immigration - Haiti Observer Blog

The presence of the Haitian community in the United States is undeniable. Whether in politic, school or at the work place, it is hard to avoid our influence. A recent report just released has discovered that the Haitian presence and influence in the U.S. has in fact increased during the past 14 years in America.

According to the survey, the number of Creole speakers in United States has increased by 73 percent from 2000 to 2014. In 2000, Creole was the 14th most common language spoken at home. In 2014, it is ranks 10th.

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Because Haiti suffers the reputation of being the poorest nation in the western hemisphere, it has spurred hundreds of thousands of Haitian migrants to cross over the border into the Dominican Republic (DR) seeking jobs. The DR, seeking to implement immigration control, has started a program to give resident status to Haitian migratory workers, who have been in the country prior to October 2011. The DR is asking for a Haitian identity card, passport, or birth certificate. The problem is the Haitian government's inertia in processing requests for the identity documents.

Haitians have not had an easy go of it in the Dominican Republic, but they direct their ire at Haiti's bungling bureaucracy. The immigration authorities are imposing a fee of $60 for a new birth certificate, voter ID, and passport. The fee is well beyond the means of migrant workers whose take-home pay amounts to only five dollars per day.

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Once again, we have learned that some Haitian migrants perished at sea or as their body came ashore on the coast of Florida, the Bahamas or some islands near by. Often you hear: " The U.S. Coast Guard says an overloaded sailboat carrying migrants from Haiti has overturned and at least 10, 20 30, 40, 50,.... people have reportedly died.

Why do Haitians continue to risk their lives?

Do Haitian really know the risk?

They most pay those smugglers some good money. Why can't they use that same money to start a business in their own country instead?

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Four Haitians involved in the illegal immigration network were arrested in Pointe-A-Pitre, Guadeloupe during the third week of March 2014. The four Haitians hauled by the official were Widberley Predestin (26), Jean Louis (33), Ismick Premier (35) and Jean Vil (36). They were sentenced by the Criminal Court of Pointe-à-Pitre (Guadeloupe) with terms varying 3 to 5 years.
The Border Police (PAF or Police de l'Air et des Frontières) has estimated that their network had landed more than 30 immigration landing operation involving 500 to 600 people (mainly Haitians and a few Dominicans) in the past one year. Their investigation suggests that these illegal immigrants have paid between US$ 4000 and US$ 5000 per trip from Hispaniola Island to the Dominican Republic. In addition, they had to pay US$ 200 to US$ 600 as passages between Dominica and South Basse-Terre (Guadeloupe). Thereafter, they used to pay further €50 to €100 before being taken into a house in Petit-Bourg where they could contact their family to bring more money, if needed.

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To tackle the problem of stopping illegal migration from Haiti to The Bahamas, the Haitian and Bahamian governments met to discuss solutions. Fred Mitchell, U.S. Minister of Foreign Affairs and Immigration (FAI), and his representatives attended the bi-lateral meeting as observers. The dual purpose of the meeting was to reduce numbers of illegal immigrants traveling to The Bahamas and encourage more trade.

One strategy the two governments decided to put into practice is to implement a citizens' awareness program in northern Haiti. It will inform people, if they are discovered engaging in human trafficking activities, they will be arrested and returned to Haiti. To strengthen the two governments' resolve in reducing illegal migration from Haiti to The Bahamas, they are ramping up their military intelligence capacity.

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The Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI) are having a problem with the migration of Haitians entering their country. To curb and decrease the numbers of Haitian immigrants, TCI Premier Rufus Ewing announced to the news media TCI wants to begin a drone program. They will be partnering with both Britain and Bahamian governments to achieve their objective.

Premier Rufus set forth the steps their government will implement in 2014, to increase TCI's border control and manage the immigration problem. TCI's approach is two-fold: ramping up its reconnaissance and monitoring coastal borders as well as constant flyovers of border areas.

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The United States has a history of forbidding foreign boats from entering its territories and reaching its coastline, particularly boats from Haiti and Cuba. Originally, in 1981 the U.S. had an agreement with Haiti which allowed the boarding of a vessel. Those forbidden at sea were interviewed to determine their status as a refugee. Upon discovery of any violations, the vessel was sent back to Haiti after notifying the Haitian government. When the U.S. stopped abiding by this practice, the agreement became terminated in 1994. However, the United States has continued to forbid entrance of Haitian vessels.

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Haitian author Edwidge Danticat's new novel Claire of the Sea Light is the Wilmette Public Library's official selection for its 2014 "One Book, Everybody Reads" community program. Danticat, who immigrated to New York City from Haiti with her parents at 12, has been the recipient of every major literary award that can be bestowed on her. She has been on top-ten, best book, best fiction book lists, as well as the Washington Post's 2013 Notable Fiction list.

Claire of the Sea Light limns the Haitian immigrant life, its history, culture, and the people themselves. Several themes weave their way through the magical storytelling of Danticat's deft characterization of cultural roles in the immigrant community. A story of a young Haitian girl, who is orphaned by her father in expectation she will be better taken care of; the story elliptically traces Claire's experiences back to her old life in the tiny fishing hamle,t where she once lived.

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Consul General of the United States Embassy, Jay Thomas Smith, held a media conference at the American Embassy to discuss the processing of temporary visas. It seems a number of travel agencies wanting to jump to the head of the line to get temporary visas are running a scam, which is increasing the wait time for general applicants to receive their visas.

Travel agencies are using made-up numbers, which the U.S. Embassy does not question, in order to save chunks of appointment times for their employees. As a result of snatching appointment times away from general applicants, wait times have increased through no fault of their own or the U.S. Embassy's.

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As U.S. immigration reform stalls because of Republicans' refusal to compromise, the onslaught of foreign nationals continues to stream in, seeking green cards and eventually citizenship.

The Caribbean region makes up 15% of immigrants in the U.S., who have attained green cards or naturalization. The four top Caribbean countries, who achieved green card or naturalization status, include Dominican Republic (DR), Cuba, Haiti, and Jamaica. The total number of immigrants from all UN countries, who naturalized in 2012 exceeded 100,000.

As U.S. naturalized citizens, they gain the right to work at any job, including government posts through the electoral process, the one exclusion being the U.S. presidency. They also have voting rights at all levels of the government electoral process.

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