(DailyAnswer.org) – President Joe Biden’s administration has announced it will cease the deportation of Haitian migrants. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas issued the order on June 28 to prevent the deportation of thousands of illegal immigrants from Haiti who fled ongoing gang violence. Roughly 200,000 migrants already have Temporary Protection Status, which protects them from deportation. TPS has now been extended by 18 months.
The new order issued by Mayorkas extends protection from deportation to an estimated 309,000 additional migrants from Haiti, in addition to Haitians who entered the country before or on June 3, 2024. Mayorkas stated that the order was an “obligation” for the Bidem administration to fulfill, and a realization of the TPS law’s objective. He stated the order was issued to provide Haitian migrants with humanitarian aid following the unrest in their home country.
Mayorkas claimed the move was not against the interests of the United States. In March 2024, the Dominican Republic was sending Haitian migrants back to their home country, despite a humanitarian crisis affecting the three million inhabitants of Haiti’s capital Port-au-Prince. By spring 2024, most of the capital was controlled by gangs who were demanding the resignation of then acting Prime Minister Ariel Henry. Since his resignation, the violence has not receded.
In March Haitian community leaders criticized Republican Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ decision to deploy over 250 soldiers and law enforcement officers to Florida Keys in response to the surge in illegal immigrants fleeing from Haiti. Jean Jacques, a 66-year-old cook in Miami, said he feared for the safety of the migrants being sent back to their home country. He claimed that Florida’s government did not care that the migrants would likely be killed by gangs back in Haiti.
Human rights advocates called on both the Dominican Republic and the US to stop deporting Haitian refugees. The leader of the Haitian Bridge Alliance, Guerline Jozef, said there was no safe place to go for Haitians following the deportations. In April Mayorkas said the US had no plans to extend TPS for undocumented refugees fleeing Haiti. The Biden administration has since changed its mind as Republicans continue to press the president and Mayorkas to address record numbers of illegal border crossings into the US.
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