Updates from Haiti
With all that’s going on in the past few weeks, you may have missed the news from Haiti. Criminal gangs shot at a couple of airliners flying into and out of Haiti, injuring at least one person and leading the FAA to ban U.S. airlines from flying into Haiti for 30 days.
The Great Local Mango Save
This report comes from Sr. Pat Dillon, RJM, a Quixote Center partner in Gros Morne, Haiti.
Changing the Narrative on Immigration
There is so much fear mongering and scapegoating during this election year. Recently Quixote Center had to remove a social media post on migration because there was too much hate and anger toward migrants expressed in the comments. It is worthwhile to take a step back and reflect on where each of us stand on immigration. No matter what our background or personal connection to this sensitive issue is, we all have an opinion. But where does our knowledge come from? That is, how do you know what you know?
Support Bills to Stop Arms Trafficking
The Quixote Center encourages you to take action supporting efforts to stop arms trafficking in Latin America and the Caribbean. There are currently four bills introduced in the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives and we are also reaching out to the White House to recommend executive action on this issue.
Stop criminalizing migration through the Darién
The signed agreement between the U.S. and Panama committing $6 million from the United States to deport migrants trying to cross the Darien rainforest is a disgrace. Instead of solving anything, this money violates the basic human rights of people fleeing conflict-ridden zones to seek asylum and a better future up North.
Quixote Center Applauds Extension of TPS for Haitians; Calls on the Administration to Do More
Last week, Department of Homeland Secretary Mayorkas announced that DHS will extend and redesignate Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, for Haiti for another 18 months. The agency cited the country’s ongoing violence and insecurity, including food insecurity. This means that over half a million Haitians already in the United States are protected from deportation.
Veterinary Care for Haiti’s Smallholder Farmers
I recently lost 9 pigs. This small pig is the only one I have left. If there was a vaccination campaign, it would make a positive impact in our community. I previously lost a mother sow together with her 6 piglets. Then I lost a mother sow together with 9 of her piglets. This small pig is the only one left. Even if we were asked to pay a fee for the vaccines, we would agree to do that because we use these pigs to pay school fees for our children. We do not have any other economic activity that would enable us to send our children to school.
Migration Solutions; and Franciscan Network on Migration in Brazil
There is a lot of noise about migration coming from political campaigns, and from all sides. Most recently the U.S. government has limited asylum applications at the border in order to stem an ever-growing flow. Congress couldn’t pass bipartisan legislation to do essentially the same thing, because on the political right, politicians want to use the issue to rally their base.
Quixote Center Announces Expansion of Plantain Project in Haiti
Plantains are an important food and cash crop in Haiti. Most people eat them every day, so the farmers that produce them have a ready source of food for their families and cash to pay their bills.
Save Mango Trees in Gros Morne
Quixote Center partners in Gros Morne, Haiti, are dependent on mango exports for their main source of cash. Haitian producers grow the Fransik variety small, yellow, juicy and sweet. In 2022 Haiti exported 28 million mangoes to the United States, their main customer.
Report from Panama
During the week of March 11, Quixote Center, together with our partners with the Franciscan Network on Migration, organized and led a group of U.S.-based immigration advocates and policy experts to visit the migrant path in Panama, starting with the treacherous Darien Gap. Our Panama colleagues released a report in response to what we witnessed at the Darien.
Our colleagues note the following concerns: