Quixote Center works to defend the human rights and dignity of the most vulnerable by influencing U.S. foreign and immigration policies, through educating our supporters, allied organizations, and government officials, and through actions directed at specific policies. Extreme poverty and vulnerability lead families to make the heartbreaking decision to migrate, to the United States or elsewhere. Our policy priorities address the root causes of migration in Haiti, Nicaragua and across Latin America and the Caribbean. We also defend the rights of migrants in the United States and work toward safe and non-exploitative legal pathways that recognize the important role immigrants play in our society and economy.
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November 1, 2022
Mr. Jorge Abad
Area Director for Central America and the Caribbean
USDA APHIS PPQ Preclearance and Offshore Programs
4700 River Road, Unit 66
Riverdale, MD 20737
RE: Mango Preclearance Program in Haiti
Dear Mr. Abad,
We are writing as partner organizations to groups working with small-scale producers in Gros Morne, Haiti.
The armed group, the G-9 Families and Allies, seizing control of the fuel terminal at Varreux has dominated news from Haiti for the past two months. The group’s blockade of fuel entering the country impacted food delivery and medical supply chains just as cholera was presenting again. The blockade, and apparent inability of Haiti’s police to deal with the situation, became the chief talking point for those seeking an armed intervention. Over the last six days the situation has changed.
On Wednesday, September 7, thousands of people mobilized throughout Haiti in demonstrations against the de facto government of Ariel Henry. Protests against the government have been growing as insecurity has gotten worse, and the economy continues to decline.
The AFL-CIO’s Solidarity Center just released their latest living wage study for Haiti, The High Cost of Low Wages, with a particular emphasis on wages and conditions for garment workers. The garment sector employs close to 58,000 workers, 63% of whom are women.
The United States Coast Guard is intercepting refugees from Haiti and Cuba and returning them back to their home countries in record numbers. As of August 12, 2022, the US Coast Guard had interdicted 6,812 Haitians since the current fiscal year began; over 4,000 Cubans have been intercepted as well.
(in Kreyol)
The crisis of insecurity in Port au Prince is severe. In July alone nearly 500 people were killed when rival gangs warred in Cite Soleil. Armed groups control transportation routes into and out of the capital, and use this position to extort travelers and businesses, engage in kidnappings, and use extreme violence against those challenging their position.
UPDATE: The DC Attorney General's office, whose funding is separate from that of the mayor's office, has announced a grant program of $150,000 to aid nonprofits leading the welcoming response. We welcome this news, but unfortunately this level of funding is still woefully inadequate to meet the needs of mutual aid groups.
Haitian migrants were expelled at much higher rates than the nationals of other countries similarly situated during the twenty-seven months since Title 42 policies were first implemented. Haitians were at least 3X more likely to be expelled compared to nationals of almost all other countries, except for those who could, by agreement between the United States and Mexico, be expelled directly into Mexico. This pattern changed in June of this year, with a significant drop in the percentage of Haitians encountered being expelled, a trend that seems to be continuing into July.
Acting Prime Minister Ariel Henry and his “September 11th” coalition met with representatives of the Montana Accord last week to discuss how to end the country's political stalemate. The Montana Accord is a civil society-led transition proposal negotiated last year at the Montana Hotel that hundreds of national and local organizations have endorsed. A coalition of political parties referred to as the PEN joined the Montana group earlier this year. Close allies of Henry quickly assembled his September 11th coalition last year after the Montana proposal was announced.
One year ago today Haiti's acting president, Jovenal Moïse, was assassinated in his own home. A group of two-dozen mercernaries, most apparently hired from Colombia, were arrested in the days following Moïse's murder, but the story of who was ultimately behind the plot to kill Moïse continues to unfold.
There has been a brief, no doubt temporary, respite from the expulsion of people back to Haiti under Title 42 this week.
Quixote Center Denounces Preliminary Injunction on Title 42; Continues Call for Restoration of Asylum
Washington D.C.—Today a federal court in Louisiana issued a preliminary injunction against the Biden administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's decision to end Title 42. This decision means that the United States Border Patrol is required to continue to expel migrants immediately upon encounter, thus, denying refugees access to asylum or other humanitarian relief.
