Caribbean Matters: Lawmakers slam DeSantis' threats to Haitian refugees

It’s déjà vu: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, no longer in the spotlight for his failed Republican presidential campaign, has threatened a repeat of 2022’s “send refugees to Martha’s Vineyard” scam, only this time Haitian refugees are his target.

This won’t win DeSantis any points from the Haitian American community, particularly in Florida, which is home to the largest Haitian American population in the U.S. DeSantis’ little plot has also provoked a response from the House Haiti Caucus. Founded on Haitian Flag Day 2021, its current members are Democratic Reps. Yvette Clarke of New York, Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick of Florida, Sydney Kamlager of California, and Seth Magaziner of Rhode Island, as well as Republican Rep. Mike Lawler of New York.. 

This provocation by Gov. “DeKlantis” (as many on social media call him) is taking place at a time when Haitian Americans are focused on worsening conditions in Haiti, and worried about family and friends caught up in the chaos there.

“Caribbean Matters” is a weekly series from Daily Kos. If you are unfamiliar with the region, check out Caribbean Matters: Getting to know the countries of the Caribbean.

NPR: 

DeSantis is prepping for a wave of Haitian migrants. Advocates say he's grandstanding

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis says he wants to be ready. He's sending more than 250 officers and National and State Guard troops to the southern part of the state. Some Haitian-American leaders believe it's more about politics than preparedness.

More than a half million Haitians live in Florida. For decades, the state has been a primary destination for people fleeing political turmoil and economic hardship on the island. Florida's large Haitian-American community is closely monitoring the crisis. Tessa Petit. who was born and raised in Haiti now directs the Florida Immigrant Coalition, an advocacy group. She's been in touch with people on the island and says, "Folks in Haiti are living in complete panic. Supermarkets don't have food. People are running out of food. There's no electricity. Communication is very difficult. And people are living in fear."

POLITICO:

DeSantis: Flying Haitian migrants to Martha’s Vineyard is on the table

The comments come as Florida braces for a potential influx of Haitian migrants

Gov. Ron DeSantis suggested Tuesday that Florida could sponsor a new wave of migrant flights, this time using the controversial state-funded program to transport Haitians who enter the U.S. after fleeing the chaos unfolding in the island nation.

The comments, made during an appearance on a podcast hosted by conservative radio host Dana Loesch, come as Florida braces for a potential influx of Haitian migrants entering the state, which has one of the largest populations of Haitians and Haitian-Americans in the U.S.

“We do have our transport program also that’s going to be operational,” the Republican governor said. “Haitians land in the Florida Keys, their next stop very well may be Martha’s Vineyard.”

Pressley took to X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, to express her disdain for DeSantis’ latest stunt.

The congresswoman demanded the U.S. do better, on March 24.

In between, on March 18, Pressley and dozens of senators and members of the House sent a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas.

The names of the Senate and House members who signed can be found here.

Here’s the full text of the letter, via from Sen. Chris Van Hollen’s website:

Dear Secretaries Blinken and Mayorkas,

We write to urge you to redesignate Haiti for Temporary Protected Status (TPS), which offers temporary relief from removal and access to work permits for eligible foreign nationals who are unable to return safely to their home country. We also request that you halt all deportations to Haiti until conditions in the country improve. Armed gangs control much of Haiti’s territory, including the capital city of Port-au-Prince. This exposes people living in Haiti to pervasive human rights abuses, including killings, kidnappings, and sexual violence. Returning Haitians now present in the United States would expose them to extreme danger and life-threatening conditions. TPS for Haitians and a cessation of deportation flights to Haiti are therefore urgently warranted.

Haiti is in a state of security and humanitarian crisis that has forced many Haitians to flee. Haiti did not constitutionally appoint Prime Minister Ariel Henry and has not held elections since 2017. Now that Prime Minister Henry has yielded to public pressure and announced his intention to resign after the formation of a transitional council, Haiti is likely to experience a period of continued instability as interim leadership begins to facilitate elections.

This instability is exacerbated by the presence of armed gangs throughout Haiti. Lacking democratic legitimacy, the Henry government ceded control to these gangs, which now control approximately 80 percent of Port-au-Prince and have significant presence across the country. Recently, Prime Minister Henry was unable to return to Haiti because of gang assaults on Portau-Prince’s Toussaint Louverture International Airport. These gangs are contributing to a rise in crime across Haiti. Kidnappings and homicides reached their highest recorded rate in 2023; the number of reported homicides for 2023 more than doubled that of 2022; and rates of child abduction also spiked in 2023.

These gangs, operating with impunity, have also weaponized sexual violence to inflict pain and fear to expand their influence. The United Nations Integrated Office on Haiti and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights found that most armed gangs “deliberately use sexual violence against local populations as a means to expand and consolidate their control over certain areas.” We are deeply concerned about the risk of gender-based and sexual violence that deporting people to Haiti would create.

TPS provides protection to foreign nationals in the United States whose home countries are experiencing temporary and extraordinary conditions, including armed conflict, natural disasters, and other extraordinary conditions that render return unsafe. TPS has been granted for countries such as Afghanistan, Burma, Cameroon, Sudan, and Ethiopia, where human rights abuses have prevented a safe return home. The United States has previously paused deportation flights amid ongoing humanitarian crises in countries such as Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Georgia, Hungary, Moldova, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia.

Approximately 731,000 Haitian-born people live in the United States. The escalation of the grave danger Haitians face in their home country fully satisfies the requirements for a TPS redesignation and a pause on all deportation flights to Haiti. Both of these steps are necessary to ensure that the United States does not return Haitian nationals to a government incapable of protecting its citizens — often subjecting them to repression and violence — and gangs that brutally victimize residents and operate without restrictions. Due to the quickly worsening gang violence in Haiti, the uncertain political future following Prime Minister Henry’s resignation announcement, and the lack of accountability for human rights violations, we urge you to extend and redesignate TPS for Haiti and use your discretion to halt deportation flights to the country. These actions will prevent further suffering and unnecessary loss of life. Thank you in advance for your attention to this matter.

There was very little coverage of the letter, though The Boston Globe reporter Tonya Alanez did write about it.

Mass. congressional delegation seeks extended protection for Haitian immigrants

The TPS program, which was created in a 1990 law, allows people who fled countries because of natural disasters and wars to come to the United States to live and work. In 2010, the Obama administration granted that protected status specifically to Haitians who arrived here following a devastating 7.0-magnitude earthquake.

The United States extended the protected status several times for Haitian immigrants following the 2010 earthquake, but President Donald Trump tried to end those efforts in 2019. The program remained in place, however, after Trump’s moves to end the program faced several court challenges.

Meanwhile, immigrant advocacy and support groups in Florida are not buying the DeSantis agenda. As A.G. Gancarski wrote for Florida Politics on March 14:

Dotie Joseph, immigrant advocacy groups call for ‘compassionate response’ to Haitian crisis

With the situation continuing to be grave in Haiti, and with Gov. Ron DeSantis mobilizing state forces to rebuff refugees fleeing the country, a Democratic legislative leader is joining with groups advocating for immigrants to call for a more measured response.

“Securing our borders in a legal and humane way requires real governance, not political posturing. In this case, digging deeper into what’s fueling the current violence in Haiti, we know that the guns — none of which are manufactured in Haiti — are being shipped from the United States, and primarily from Florida,” Rep. Dotie Joseph said.

Joseph, who was born in Haiti, urges government to “focus its law enforcement resources on making sure shipments from Florida are properly screened for illegal arms and munitions.”

“We can also ensure that state agencies are not weaponized to prevent churches and other nonprofits from caring for those who are legally admitted. Economically, we can work on integrating these hard working and tax paying migrants into our state economy at a time where employers are squealing about workforce shortages,” Joseph asserted.

Florida NPR station WUSF aired this report from Danielle Prieur.

Central Florida faith leaders put out call to action to help Haiti    

Hundreds of faith leaders in Florida and throughout the country have pledged to write their local representatives to ask for more humanitarian aid for Haiti.

Rich Morales is the political director of Orlando-based advocacy group Faith in Action. He called on Central Florida faith communities to support ones in South Florida who are receiving the bulk of migrants from the country.

“There’s an opportunity to support congregations that are taking in refugees and I think that’s an important step that we talk about,” said Morales.

He also called on these same houses of worship to write their members of Congress asking for among other things, increased humanitarian aid to Haiti.

The group is circulating an online petition that gets sent straight to a person’s representative.

“Please look out for the link again, share the link with your congregations and organizations so that you can send an email right to your member of Congress,” said Morales.

The Miami Herald interviews Abson Louis as he arrived in Miami International Airport on an evacuation flight March 18. 

For those wondering how to help—beyond pressuring the Biden administration and your Congress critters—our friends at World Central Kitchen can always use our support.

Join me in the comments for updates, and for the weekly Caribbean News Roundup. Campaign Action