DHS

The investigation into the assassination of Haitian Presien Jovenal Moise has broadened to include law enforcement in both Haiti and South Florida, including finding those who provided logistical and/or financial support.  Part of the investigation is being carried out in Colombia given the significant role of hired Colombian mercenaries, both in custody and at large. The full article by Miami Herald journalists Kevin Hall, Jacqueline Charles, and Jay Weaver follows. 

Repected Haitian-American author Edwidge Dandicat writes in the Miami Herald op-ed below that the United States is endangering Haitians and communities in Haiti by deporting them regardless of their health status.  More than 100 Immigrants’ rights organizations, faith-based groups, academic institutions across the United States and Haiti, have sent a letter to the Trump administration, the Department of Homeland Security and ICE, urging them to stop the deportations and find community-based alternatives to detention that will prevent the spread of COVID-19.  For members of the Haitian Diaspora and friends of Haiti, now is the time to contact your representatives and senators.  Haiti's political and health care systems are much too fragile right now to deal with a major epidemic.  The end result is that people will lose their lives.   

Haitians are increasingly seeking asylum in Canada for fear of being deported when a six month Temporary Protected Status extension concludes on January 22nd .  According to the Miami Herald copied below, the Montreal City Council estimates that half of the 6,500 asylum seekers arriving since January are Haitian.  In the United States, civil society groups continue to advocate for another extension.

Below is an article by Orlando Sentinel journalist Sandra Pedicini about the hundreds of Haitian Disney employees who will be forced to leave the United States should the government end their Temporary Protected Status (TPS). TPS was given to undocumented Haitians in the United States after the 2010 earthquake to protect them from deportation.  Advocates, as well as Senate Democrats, argue that the ongoing cholera epidemic and aftermath of Hurricane Matthew justify TPS.  Further, companies such as Disney are speaking out against the possibility of losing hard-working and dependable employees.   More information about TPS available at the USCIS website.