Biden administration deports people to Haiti despite evacuation warning

Alexandria, Louisiana - The Biden administration on Thursday sent a deportation flight to Haiti, just one day after the State Department issued an evacuation warning for US citizens in the country.

The Biden administration sent a deportation flight of over 60 migrants to Haiti one day after issuing an evacuation advisory for US citizens in the country.
The Biden administration sent a deportation flight of over 60 migrants to Haiti one day after issuing an evacuation advisory for US citizens in the country.  © IMAGO / AFLO

US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) sent a deportation flight to Haiti, its second in August, out of Alexandria, Louisiana, on Thursday. The plan reportedly had more than 60 Haitian nationals on board when it landed in Port-au-Prince.

The move came one day after the US State Department issued a security warning urging US citizens in Haiti to leave the country. "Do not travel to Haiti due to kidnapping, crime, civil unrest and poor health care infrastructure," the advisory stated.

"Those two cannot happen at the same time. You cannot be evacuating people and deporting people at the same time. That is beyond inhumane," Guerline Jozef, executive director of the Haitian Bridge Alliance, told The Hill.

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"It is definitely a violation against human rights," she added.

Haitian people face violence and international intervention

A demonstrator holds a sign reading "Welcome Haitian Refugees!" at a rally in Houston, Texas.
A demonstrator holds a sign reading "Welcome Haitian Refugees!" at a rally in Houston, Texas.  © IMAGO / NurPhoto

Haiti has seen increased political and social unrest resulting from a string of natural disasters and increased violence following the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse last year.

The US has expressed support for a militarized intervention in Haiti by international police forces led by Kenya and backed by the United Nations, despite opposition from many Haitians.

Since Haiti became the first independent nation founded entirely by formerly enslaved people in 1804, the US has contributed to the country's woes by participating in the draining of its resources, military occupation, and outright theft.

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Haitian nationals in the US have secured a re-designation of Temporary Protected Status as well as authorizations for up to 30,000 immigrants per month within the last year, but rights groups say those wins do not excuse the Biden administration's ongoing deportations.

"Our ask is for the United States to turn that plane around," Jozef said after Thursday's flight took off. "The United States must not deplane people, deported people. They need to turn that thing around."

Cover photo: IMAGO / AFLO

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