27 members of Congress urge halt of deportations to Haiti during pandemicSun Sentinel, Orlando Sentinel / Anthony Man / April 14, 2020A group of U.S. House members wants to stop the Trump administration from deporting Haitian nationals during the coronavirus outbreak. To achieve that goal, they want a deportation ban included in any future coronavirus legislation, though the 27 members of… Read more »
Today, Congresswoman Frederica S. Wilson (FL-24), House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Gregory W. Meeks (NY-5), Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal (WA-7), and Homeland Security Committee Chair Bennie G. Thompson (MS-2) sent a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas calling on him to end the practice of summarily expelling migrants under Title 42 of the Public Health Services… Read more »
Today, Congresswoman Wilson hosted a forum titled "An Impending Crisis: COVID-19 in Haiti, Ongoing Instability, and the Dangers of Continued U.S. Deportations," featuring House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Eliot Engel; Leonie Hermantin, Haitian community leader and director of Development, Communications, and Strategic Planning for the Sant La Haitian Neighborhood Center; Clarel… Read more »
ICE has been testing migrants before deportation. But how it's doing so is problematic.Miami Herald / Monique O. Madan and Jacqueline Charles / May 29, 2020The Department of Homeland Security is only testing a sample of the detainees it is removing from the United States and using a 15-minute rapid test to determine if they have the coronavirus.The response by DHS to a Miami Herald… Read more »
Today, Congresswoman Wilson introduced the Haitian Deportation Relief Act, which calls for the suspension of deportations of Haitian nationals until the COVID-19 pandemic has ended in both the United States and Haiti. The legislation also requires the Department of Homeland Security prioritize migrants whose detention has been deferred and who do not pose a public safety risk for… Read more »
Groups Work to Stop Deportations to Haiti Amid Coronavirus Pandemic NBCMiami / Willard Shepard / April 23, 2020There's outcry from the Haitian community in South Florida and one member of Congress over deporting Haitians back to the island in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, after advocates say Immigration and Customs Enforcement deported almost 130 people Thursday. Recent video taken… Read more »
Why Haitian nationals have a tougher time returning home than deportees from the U.S.Miami Herald / Jacqueline Charles / April 22, 2020Haitians stranded by the coronavirus in the United States are finding that it's a lot easier to get back home if you're a U.S. deportee than if you're a tourist stuck abroad. Haitian Prime Minister Joseph Jouthe, confirming in a radio interview that the… Read more »
Miami, FL –Congresswoman Wilson will soon introduce the Haitian Deportation Relief Act, which calls for the suspension of deportations of Haitian nationals until the COVID-19 pandemic has ended in both the United States and Haiti. The legislation also calls for a report to Congress on Haiti's health infrastructure; COVID-19 prevention and treatment efforts; the political and… Read more »
Frederica Wilson: Future Coronavirus Stimulus Efforts Should Ensure No More Haiti DeportationsFlorida Daily / Kevin Derby / April 14, 2020This week, U.S. Rep. Frederica Wilson, D-Fla., called on congressional leaders to include in any future coronavirus stimulus efforts a proposal to "bar the administration from deporting Haitian nationals for the duration of the global pandemic. "In… Read more »
Miami, Florida – Congresswoman Wilson led a letter to House leadership asking that any future coronavirus response package bar the administration from deporting Haitian nationals for the duration of the global pandemic.In March, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency said that it would delay most deportations and that public safety was its top priority, but on Tuesday,… Read more »
