Quixote Center works to influence United States policies that impact the people we work with. We advocate with Congress and the Administration to change US foreign policies that exacerbate extreme poverty and vulnerability in Haiti and Nicaragua. Extreme poverty, violence, and vulnerability lead families to make the heartbreaking decision to migrate, to the United States or elsewhere. We work to address these root causes when they have a US policy solution. We also advocate for immigration policies in the United States that promote the dignity of migrants, focusing on preserving the asylum system.
Our current priorities include:
Quixote Center impacts policies through:
You can view a recent webinar on Weapons Trafficking to Haiti here.
Join us in calling on the Biden administration to extend Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to Haitians who will otherwise lose their status in February 2023, putting them at risk of deportation. We are also calling for the administration to redesignate the date for TPS so that all Haitians currently in the U.S. may apply.
For more background on TPS is and why it is so important, click HERE.
More than half of the people in Haiti are facing severe hunger, with at least 8,000, specifically among those displaced and living in tent camps, facing starvation. Gang violence killed 5600 people in 2024, with more than one million people displaced. The violence, death, hunger and displacement are a result of weak U.S. gun laws and weak enforcement that enriches manufacturers and dealers and enables illegal gun trafficking across the Caribbean.
Gang Violence, TPS, and Advocacy
In February, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) rescinded the extended designation of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haiti, ending legal protections for Haitians with TPS living in the United States on August 3, 2025.
The immigration system in the US is dysfunctional, with decades of failed attempts at comprehensive immigration reform. The reason: powerful interest groups are profiting from it. Although immigrants founded the United States, and our nation is supposed to be a land of opportunity for those seeking the “American Dream”, the US has a complex history of anti-immigrant sentiment with cycles that have pushed and pulled people from all parts of the world.
Quixote Center is an anti-racist organization. The history of racism, systematic oppression and exploitation of people of color began with the origins of this country and continues with devastating effects today among communities of color. These include pervasive anti-Blackness as a hallmark of living in the United States, and the notion that making America great includes expelling immigrants of color. We believe that efforts toward diversity, equity and inclusion are what is making our country great.
It’s complicated, to say the least.
Our new President claims that a “bunch of radical lunatics” run USAID. His preposterously wealthy sidekick calls it a criminal organization and said it was “time for it to die.”(i) They have not presented evidence.
Stay strong. It will be a tough few years.
We reaffirm our commitment to support and promote the rights and dignity of people on the move, as well as migrants already seeking a new life in our country. We reaffirm the humanity and dignity of LGBTQ persons and offer our love. We stand behind Bishop Budde’s plea for compassion and mercy toward the most vulnerable.
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.
We are getting closer to unpacking the complicated web of laws and agencies responsible for preventing U.S.- made weapons from getting into the hands of criminal elements in Haiti.
On Wednesday Quixote Center convened partner organizations together with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) staff director in charge of global trade violations and export enforcement coordination.
"As you conduct your wars, think of others
(do not forget those who seek peace)As you pay your water bill, think of others
(those who are nursed by clouds).As you return home, to your home, think of others
(do not forget the people of the camps)."-Mahmoud Darwish
Earlier this week, a gunman shot three Palestinian college students as they were walking in a Vermont neighborhood.
And until there is no longer first class and second class citizens of any nation…well, everywhere is war.
—Bob Marley
The media predicted a massive surge at the U.S. border after the Biden Administration finally put an end to Title 42, and now outlets are scrambling to understand why this failed to materialize.
The reality is that migrants, advocates and even border officials, are unsure of what happens next. This drop at the border is no measure of success, but is rather evidence of a deep failure on the part of the United States to honor its commitment to provide safe refuge to people fleeing danger.
The Asylum Process Has Been Decimated
Below is a statement we released with our partners at the Franciscan Network for Migrants. Click HERE to read the original statement in Spanish.
