FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact: Jesus Chavez, 559-213-6841 or jchavez@centrolegal.org
ACILEP CONDEMNS HAITIAN DEPORTATIONS, URGES BIDEN TO HALT EXPULSIONS AND VIOLENCE
Oakland, CA (September 23, 2021) – The Alameda County Immigration Legal & Education Partnership (ACILEP) is outraged and horrified by the Biden administration’s brutal and illegal treatment of Haitian families, children, and adults seeking safety in Del Rio, Texas. Last week, the Biden administration chose to resume flights to Haiti to expel thousands of Haitians, including children and infants, to a country mired with a growing political crisis. This week, we saw sickening images, depicting Border Patrol officers brandishing whips on horses while hurling racist abuse to Haitian asylum seekers. ACILEP stands in solidarity with Black-led immigrant rights’ organizations, including ACILEP member Black Alliance for Just Immigration (BAJI), who for years have been challenging anti-Blackness in U.S. immigration policies. We join them in demanding that the Biden administration immediately stop all deportations to Haiti, grant humanitarian parole to Haitian migrants, and end the inhumane Title 42 policy.
Haiti has experienced great turmoil in recent months. Gang violence has resulted in a surge of kidnappings, with the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in July exacerbating insecurity. Moreover, Haiti was hit by a calamitous 7.2 magnitude earthquake last month, with at least 650,000 Haitians still impacted by it, and a tropical storm that killed more than 2,200 Haitians. The Biden administration recently designated Haiti for Temporary Protected Status (TPS), recognizing that Haiti is not a safe place for Haitiian Nationals. Yet, the administration now paradoxically claims that removing Haitian asylum seekers to the country they deemed unsafe is somehow now admissible, despite the plea from Haitian migrant officials to halt the flights immediately. “The Haitian state is not really able to receive these deportees,” the head of Haiti’s national migration office told the New York Times.
We will not forget about this brutal treatment of Haitian migrants from the Biden administration. These actions are a display of blatant abuse of power, anti-Black racism, and basic human rights. Black migrants face more discrimination, deportation, and abuse than any other migrants. The Biden administration’s actions show that they are committed to continue the terror of the Trump administration’s white supremacist immigration policies.
“We are hard-pressed in the year 2021 to find more traumatizing and blatantly racist images than those coming out of the Del Rio area. White (and white-presenting) men on horseback with lariats are seen chasing, yelling and cursing at vulnerable Black asylum seekers who have for weeks and months been resolutely traveling toward what they thought was the safety of the US. The actions of these Border Patrol officers are completely unacceptable and show an indifference to the humanity of Black migrants. The Administration’s alleged commitment to racial equity must extend to the treatment of Black immigrants. ” Nana Gyamfi, Executive Director of Black Alliance for Just Immigration
“The continued use of excessive force by CBP towards asylum seekers at the border, as we witnessed in 2018 on Central American migrants, is a clear example that the immigration system of this country is systematically racist and needs to be reimagined with a true commitment to the dignity of Black and Indigenous people looking for safety in the U.S.” – Juan Duran, Causa Justa :: Just Cause
“The Biden administration’s cruel treatment and expulsion of Haitian migrants is reprehensible and abhorrent. Despite promises to end the misuse of xenophonic policies, like Title 42, the Biden administration continues to harm people seeking safety in the U.S. We cannot, and should not ignore the racist actions of CBP. They must be held accountable. Seeking asylum is a legal right. The Biden administration must put an immediate stop to the unlawful expulsion of Haitian migrants, and allow them to seek protection in the United States.” Aidin Castillo, Immigrants’ Rights Directing Attorney at Centro Legal de la Raza
“The Latina immigrant women of Mujeres Unidas y Activas (MUA) join in solidarity with our Haitian brothers and sisters to demand an end to the Biden Administration’s deportation flights to Haiti, and to the racist and inhumane treatment of Black immigrants at the border. We know far too well how it feels to come to this country seeking refuge and a hopeful future for our families and our children, only to be received with disdain and aggression at the border. The systematic practices of abuse and violence of immigration authorities are unacceptable and they must stop.” – Lourdes Martinez, Political Director of Mujeres Unidas y Activas
“Street Level Health Project stands in fierce solidarity with the Haitian refugees fleeing their homelands and seeking asylum here in this nation state called USA. As an organization we serve all community members regardless of status with all the respect and dignity possible. We are highly aware of the root causes of global migration and know the role this nation’s racist policies and actions have played in propelling the migration. The roots of DHS-the agency enforcing these policies- goes back to the forced removal of indigenous communities from their ancestral homelands and Black community members fleeing slavery. We urge the current administration to stop ALL deportations and expulsions as well as end the metering system to process asylum seekers at the border. We are all connected and need to foster kinship with all our relatives. Black lives matter. Black immigrant lives matter.”
#BlackAtTheBorder #ProtectHaitianAsylumSeekers #Title42isRacist”
CALL TO ACTION:
- Call your Congress members today!
Call 202-224-3121
“Hello, I am calling to urge you to demand DHS and ICE to stop all deportation flights to Haiti. Any plans to continue must be stopped because the Biden administration agreed that Haiti is presently unsafe for Haitian Nationals. Haiti just experienced a devastating earthquake, and continues to have grave political turmoil.”
- Immediately Grant Humanitarian Parole to Black Asylum-Seekers at the U.S./Mexico Border
President Biden and Secretary Mayorkas MUST grant immediate humanitarian parole to all Black asylum-seekers at the border, and allow them to process their asylum claims on the U.S. side of the border.
- Immediately Revoke Title 42
President Biden MUST reject and revoke the Title 42 order that prevents asylum-seekers from making their asylum claims. During the Trump administration, Democrats – including then-candidate Biden – harshly criticized Title 42 as a racist ruse designed to keep Black and indigenous asylum-seekers from making their claims to asylum in the US. Yet, the Biden administration has not ended Title 42; it has renewed it and continues to appeal federal courts that have found Title 42 unconstitutional.
ACILEP PARTNERS
Arab Resource and Organizing Center
BAJI – Black Alliance for Just Immigration
Causa Justa:: Just Cause
Centro Legal de la Raza
Filipino Advocates for Justice
Mujeres Unidas y Activas
Street Level Health Project
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