NILC Statement on Escalation of Deportations to Haiti

WASHINGTON — Marielena Hincapié, executive director of the National Immigration Law Center, issued the following statement on the escalation of Haitian deportations at the U.S.-Mexico border in Del Rio, Texas:

“Seeking asylum is a fundamental human and legal right. Yet thousands of Haitians who survived devastating natural disasters and political violence are being dehumanized, denied due process, and violently and forcibly returned to the very conditions they fled. This is legally and morally unacceptable.

“President Biden was elected on a campaign promise to undo the harm of four years under the Trump administration, which decimated the systems set up to protect people seeking safety. Instead of striving to keep that promise, the Biden administration has instead doubled down on a failed and inhumane strategy of deterrence and exacerbated the harm to vulnerable communities.

“We urge the Biden administration to immediately stop all deportations to Haiti and end all policies that deprive people of their rights at the border. The administration must chart a different course to welcome those seeking safety with dignity and humanity.”

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