Thursday in Washington, D.C., in response to the temporary suspension of deportation flights to Haiti, Congresswoman Frederica S. Wilson declared "I welcome the Obama administration’s decision to suspend deportation flights to Haiti https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-18905-haiti-flash-usa-temporary-suspension-of-deportations-of-haitians.html . As our Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson rightly noted, now is the time to extend our sympathies and support to Haiti, which once again is in the unenviably horrific position of having to recover from yet another blow from Mother Nature.

Unfortunately, the hold is only temporary, and Secretary Johnson has made it clear that as Haiti begins its recovery from Hurricane Matthew that he intends to resume removal flights https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-18928-haiti-usa-deportations-of-haitians-the-secretary-jeh-johnson-specifies.html .

Last week, I led more than 50 House Democrats and Republicans in a letter to President Obama https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-18873-haiti-usa-57-congress-members-against-the-deportations-of-haitian.html urging him to not only delay the planned deportations of undocumented Haitians, but to also provide them with full and fair asylum hearings, effective counsel and other forms of relief.

I also would urge the Obama administration to redesignate Haiti’s temporary protective status that is set to expire next July https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-14948-haiti-flash-extension-of-18-months-of-tps-for-haitians-already-registered.html to include Haitians already in the United States and expand the Haitian Family Reunification parole Program, which promotes safe and legal migration to the U.S.

Haiti and its citizens are still extremely vulnerable and struggling to rebuild after the earthquake that killed hundreds of thousands of people and left millions more homeless. The fact is that when the removals resume, the U.S. will be sending thousands of law-abiding people who’ve created lives here for themselves and their families and are contributing members of our society and economy back to nothing, adding insult to the injury that they’ve already suffered. More important, with the battering that Haiti took from Hurricane Matthew, the island nation is in no position to receive even one deportee.

Secretary Johnson’s decision to delay the deportations was the right thing to do. I hope that in the next few weeks a humanitarian solution can be found that is both fair and lawful."

See also :

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-18928-haiti-usa-deportations-of-haitians-the-secretary-jeh-johnson-specifies.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-18905-haiti-flash-usa-temporary-suspension-of-deportations-of-haitians.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-18700-haiti-flash-usa-resumption-of-regular-deportations-to-haiti.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-14948-haiti-flash-extension-of-18-months-of-tps-for-haitians-already-registered.html

HL/ HaitiLibre