In the News

The Miami Times Article

The Congressional Black Caucus is adamant about having the voice of Black Americans heard by the U.S. president, presenting its lengthy agenda to the Biden administration last week and pledging to meet with White House officials regularly to move the needle on their issues.

Among the various items brought to the forefront by the caucus’ seven-member executive board is the issue of immigration – specifically as it relates to Haitian migrants fleeing to the states and African refugees in Ukraine.

On Monday, approximately 130 Haitian migrants arrived in a makeshift sailboat just off the 700 block of East Shore Drive in Summerland Key, according to a spokesperson from the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office.

Last weekend on March 6, a vessel carrying 356 Haitian migrants was intercepted by U.S. Border Patrol and other agencies in north Key Largo, approximately 300 yards from shore. More than 100 migrants swam to shore and many were in need of medical attention, according to Walter Slosar, a Miami border patrol chief agent. By Friday, 198 migrants had been repatriated by the U.S. Coast Guard.

The arrival of Haitian migrants signals ongoing turmoil in Haiti brought on by increased kidnappings, gender-based violence, political instability, gang violence and a nation still recovering from the 7.2 magnitude earthquake that hit last August.

“This was not a meeting that I went into with the president [thinking he] was going to give [us] solutions for Haiti,” said Frederica S. Wilson, District 24 U.S. congresswoman and a member of the caucus’ executive board. “The main concern is the safety and stability of the Haitian people who are in Haiti [with] no president, no parliament, no Senate, no stable government.”

Wilson, who represents areas with large Haitian American populations in Miami, North Miami and North Miami Beach, says the issue is something that directly impacts her constituents, though other congressional districts may not be as affected.

“There are national issues and then there are local issues that every representative must navigate. This is one of my local issues,” she explained. “We know that we have to find some solution to what’s happening in Haiti ... I know that my constituents want a diaspora-led solution and so that’s what we’re trying to work on with the civil society in Haiti and with the diaspora here in the United States.”

She acknowledged that the issue, like many others, is not something that can be resolved in a single meeting, but said meetings, scheduled for at most twice a month, can provide more perspective and help nudge advisors in the right direction.

Earlier this month, a federal appeals court ruling authorized the continued use of Title 42, a public health policy enacted by former President Donald Trump that supports expulsions, but banned U.S. border patrols from returning families to countries where they can be harmed.

“It’s the first step,” said District 20 Congresswoman Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, a member of the caucus. “[But] what’s sad about it is that the courts are making a first step before the administration and Congress is making their steps. That’s what’s disappointing.”

Cherfilus-McCormick said the clear and necessary approach is for the Biden administration to remove Title 42 and create a fair pathway to citizenship for Haiti’s people.

“Haiti has become a war zone. Activists and journalists are assassinated with impunity. Children are forced to join gangs and participate in violent acts,” wrote Sant La Haitian Neighborhood Center in a recent media release. “Women are raped and violated with impunity. And entire neighborhoods have been taken over by gangs resulting in the internal displacement of over 20,000 families.”

Many Haitian-led organizations such as Sant La, Family Action Network Movement (FANM), Haitian Bridge Alliance and the National Haitian American Elected Officials Network (NHAEON) have called on Biden to halt expulsion after several migration waves in the past, including when thousands of mostly Haitian migrants reached the Texas border last September.

“As an advocacy group, we have to continue following up and continue to let them know what we intend to do, [which is] advocate,” said Charnette Frederic, NHAEON’s new chairwoman and an Irvington, N.J., councilwoman at large, who says she remains hopeful the administration will do the right thing. “I understand how hard it is for the U.S. with refugees [coming from] Ukraine because of the Russian war, but at the same time it’s very important that we also take Haiti(an migrants) seriously and help those who come here for a better life.”

Her organization’s mission and goal, she said, is to make sure its efforts help keep Haiti and the diaspora’s issues in the spotlight no matter what. NHAEON’s Haiti liaison committee continues to work with its partners at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) and state departments.

“At a great moment in history where we see the U.S. is really welcoming immigrants or refugees from Afghanistan and Ukraine, they continue these policies of shutting the door on Haitian migrants who are fleeing for political reasons,” said Cherfilus-McCormick. “As we come out of COVID, we have no real reason at all for us to be using Title 42 to deprive immigrants [of] due process.”

Getting to the root of the immigration issue, Cherfilus-McCormick said, would require the U.S. to acknowledge and denounce differences in immigration and foreign policies when the migrants in question are Black.

“The monthly meetings are great but we can’t keep expecting only the Congressional Black Caucus, Black organizations and Black people to be shouldering the fight for justice and equity,” she added. “Every ally that says they believe in equality should be standing with Haitian migrants and the Haitian community. And that means Hispanic caucuses, Jewish caucuses, LGBTQ caucus … because when we fight for equity, we fight for all.”

Though the meeting last week did not yield an immediate solution to the crisis in Haiti, it did result in a resolution for an unrelated issue impacting Black American communities – voting rights.

The board proposed that Biden utilize his executive power to weigh in on crucial issues, such as voting rights, after multiple Democratic bills on the issues have failed to pass because of GOP opposition.

Wilson disclosed that some Republican lawmakers have orchestrated in the past to support bills with the potential to destroy American democracy. Biden, she said, holds the key in stopping similar efforts in the future.

“We came [here] with more than just words or more than just putting a Black face on the issues, we came with resolve,” said Ohio Rep. Joyce Beatty, chair of the caucus, said at a press conference outside the White House last week announcing the proposal. “We were always taught that you never complain and come without resolution so today we came with executive order ideas, we came building up on things.”

“We came to this meeting with very specific ideas [and] concepts that we wanted to suggest to the president of ways in which we can make progress on voting rights, criminal justice reform, policing reform,” Joe Neguse, Colorado congressman and caucus board member, clarified to the media. “Some of those [issues] could be potential executive orders and we’re very open in working with the administration to explore that. Other items may very well be potential legislative packages that could work their way through Congress that are enhanced.”

Other topics on the agenda include federal investment into Black media and advertising companies, disparities within the workforce, the Commission on the Social Status of Black Men and Boys, and the latest HBCU bomb threats.

“This is not a new fight. This is a fight that we’ve been waging for a long time,” said Wilson, explaining that the meeting was allowed to run overtime to ensure all matters were discussed. “We’re just very happy to have a president who has opened the White House to us to hear our issues, and to pledge the help of his administration to help us solve those issues.”