The Florence Project is appalled by the Biden administration’s callous and racist treatment of Haitian families seeking safety in the United States. The images that we saw out of Texas this week depicted reprehensible treatment of migrants by CBP and reflect an unfair and immoral immigration system built on racism and violence. It is unconscionable and unfathomably cruel that the administration is ramping up removal flights to Haiti at a time when the country is reeling from the aftermath of a catastrophic earthquake and the assassination of its president. In the past week, since removal flights have begun again, hundreds of people have been flown back to Haiti, including children and families. Yesterday alone 523 Haitians were removed to Haiti.
Despite the fact that the Biden administration has designated Haiti for Temporary Protected Status, acknowledging that Haiti is not safe at this time, it is still attempting to justify expelling newly arrived Haitians seeking asylum to those exact same conditions. Haitians at our borders are fleeing disaster: political unrest, food insecurity, and destruction wrought by a 7.2 magnitude earthquake last month. Nevertheless, the administration appears determined to slam the doors to the United States shut to Haitians seeking safe refuge.
We call on the Biden administration to immediately reverse course and take decisive action to find humane and fair solutions. They must halt all planned deportations and give Haitians seeking asylum or other protections the opportunity to do so. The administration’s continued reliance on Title 42 is both illegal and immoral, and their continued endorsement of deterrence-first policies and messaging creates the climate for Border Patrol abuses like those we witnessed this week. We therefore urge the administration to end Title 42 immediately and entirely, grant humanitarian parole to Haitians seeking asylum in order to facilitate their immediate transfer to safer conditions away from the abuse they have suffered at the hands of Border Patrol, and provide humanitarian assistance to the migrants waiting in Del Rio.
