The renewal of the Temporary Protective Status (TPS) for 58,000 Haitian is uncertain. They are now at risk of being evicted from the USA
This week, with less than 80 days until the end of the 6 month extension of the "Temporary Protected Status" (TPS) for Haiti, scheduled on January 28, 2018, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson informed Elaine Duke, Interim Chief at the Department of Homeland Security, that the economic and security conditions in Haiti no longer warranted that some 58,000 Haitian migrants remain on American soil.
Nevertheless, a spokesman for the State Department declared that no decision had yet been made and refused to comment on possible internal deliberations between agencies. It should be noted that Elaine Duke has to announce a definitive decision before the end of November. U.S. law requires that this decision is announced at least 60 days before the expiration date of the TPS.
Last September, Sharon Scheidhauer, spokesperson of the services of the U.S. Office of Citizenship and Immigration, had already warned "[...] the beneficiaries are encouraged to prepare to return to Haiti in case the TPS is not extended for Haiti. This includes asking Haiti for up to date travel documents [...]"
The news is not very encouraging for our fellow countrymen living in the United States under the TPS, even if there is still some hope thanks to the multitude of political and diplomatic pressures. However, it is necessary to be seriously concerned about President Trump’s lack of empathy for the plight of immigrants, regardless of their origins...
Miami immigrant advocates urge Trump not to separate TPS families
C.M. Guerrero
Activist Francisco Portillo was in his Little Havana office Saturday afternoon trying to calm anxious callers.
“We have gotten about 20 to 25 calls today. All we can tell people is that we have to wait until the government makes a formal announcement on Monday,” Portillo said. “But with this uncertainty the community is very worried. There are people with TPS who have lived here for two decades, have businesses. Many more are homeowners. They were expecting a permanent solution, an immigration reform, not this.”
Administration officials have said the return of tens of thousands of migrants could be a boon for Central American nations and Haiti, because their citizens will return with job skills, democratic values and savings.
They also note that the protection was never meant to be permanent and that ending it would be consistent with the administration’s aim of reducing immigration and complying with legal restrictions that have been loosely enforced in the past.
After so many years in the United States, many of the TPS recipients have sunk deep roots. According to America’s Voice, an immigration reform group, many of the TPS recipients in Florida are construction supervisors and home healthcare professionals, some of them currently helping with hurricane recovery efforts in Florida and Texas. They’re also, the group says, parents to nearly 275,000 U.S. citizen children.
Forcing the return of 50,000 people to Haiti would disrupt the fragile recovery there, exacerbate the food, housing, and public health crises, and potentially destabilize the new government, according to the Journal on Migration and Human Security.
Maria Rodriguez, director of the Florida Immigrant Coalition, says if the special status isn’t renewed, it would encourage those with grounded lives to shift to the shadows.
TPS holders have become a political force in South Florida. Maria Rodriguez, director of the Florida Immigrant Coalition, leads a group of TPS holders, Dreamers, elected officials, faith leaders, labor, and community organizations attending a rally to defend the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program in front of the MDC Freedom Tower in Miami, on Tuesday, Sept. 5, 2017.
The Washington Post contributed to this report
American woman to head new UN organization in Haiti
UNITED NATIONS (CMC) – United Nations Secretary‑General António Guterres has named 53- year-old American national, Susan D Page of the United States, as his Special Representative and Head of the United Nations Mission for Justice Support in Haiti (MINUJUSTH).
MINUJUSTH replaces the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) that ended its operations in the country.
The UN mission, established in June 2004 by a UN Security Council resolution, succeeded a Multinational Interim Force after then President Bertrand Aristide departed Haiti for exile in the aftermath of an armed conflict which spread to several cities across the country.
For the last four years it was under the leadership of the Trinidad and Tobago diplomat, Sandra Honoré, who along with Mamadou Diallo of Guinea, were praised by Guterres for the contribution to the stabilization of the Caribbean country.
The UN said Page brings to her new position extensive managerial and leadership experience in diplomacy, international development and the rule of law.
She served as Deputy Special Representative for Rule of Law in MINUSTAH since January 2017, and was the first United States Ambassador to South Sudan, after which she served as the Acting United States Ambassador to the African Union and United Nations Economic Commission for Africa.
She held the position of senior adviser in the Office of the United States Special Envoy for Sudan and South Sudan and served as United States Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs.
Her United Nations experience includes positions as director of the Rule of Law Advisory Unit in the United Nations Mission in the Sudan, and senior legal adviser for the United Nations Development Programme in Sudan and in Rwanda.
PRESS RELEASE
Haiti and the United Nations stand together to achieve zero transmission of cholera
and to improve access to water, sanitation and health care
Port-au-Prince, 3 November 2017 – On the occasion of a three-day visit to Haiti, of the United Nations Deputy Secretary-General (DSG), Ms. Amina J. Mohammed and the United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Haiti, Ms. Josette Sheeran, a High Level Cholera Committee meeting (HLCC) was organized at the Prime Minister Residence, co-presided by the Head of the Haitian Government, HE M. Jack Guy Lafontant and the Deputy Secretary-General.
The Haitian Government and the UN representatives jointly expressed their determination to achieve zero transmission of cholera. They further expressed their commitment to achieving the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including improving access to water, sanitation and healthcare.
The Prime Minister and the Deputy Secretary-General, announced a commitment to work in close partnership to eliminate the transmission of cholera. They noted that achieving this ambitious goal and ensuring its sustainability will require the refinement of the current government plan for the elimination of cholera, linked to actionable steps and detailed costs. While cholera transmission has dropped dramatically from over 18,000 new cases per week at the onset of the epidemic to 250 per week this year, success will require more funding to maintain the highly effective work of emergency response teams, and commitment to the fight against cholera in the medium and long-term. In recognition of the fact that one single cholera death is one too many, the participants committed to updating the National Plan for the Elimination of Cholera to take advantage of the current window of opportunity and avoid a resurgence of cases.
“Regarding the technical support of the national drinking water supply and sanitation system, as mentioned by the President of the Republic in his meetings with the Deputy Secretary-General and the Secretary-General, on the sidelines of the 72nd session of the General Assembly last September, the Haitian government calls for a direct support to the national structures of public health, water and sanitation, to reinforce the State capacities "said the Prime Minister. "The Government and the people of Haiti feel strengthened in their confidence that the UN and the international community can raise the funding needed for the full implementation of the New Approach on cholera proposed by the Secretary General and adopted by the General Assembly, which cannot wait any longer”
The participants discussed the importance for the country to encourage foreign direct investment in sectors of water, sanitation and health, and in so doing, consolidating the progress made so far in the fight against cholera in Haiti.
According to last DINEPA data, 72% of Haitian population does not have access to adequate sanitation and 42% has not yet adequate access to safe water while access to health care services is limited.
Urging Member States and partners to provide comprehensive support, the Deputy Secretary General emphasized during the meeting that “addressing the root causes of cholera in Haiti is critical to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Additionally, in the immediate term, we urgently require funding to ensure continued operation of the rapid response teams - failure to do so risks losing the gains achieved to date”.
Haiti-RD: Tourist operators in both countries want to establish an alliance
At the initiative of the Dominicano-Haitian Chamber of Commerce (CCDH), tourist operators and tour operators in Cap-Haïtien and Puerto-Plata met in Puerto-Plata with the aim of establishing an alliance which would promote the Northern Region of the island of Hispaniola as a tourist destination with multi-destinations.
Participating in this meeting among others were: the Organization of Management of the Destinations of the North of Haiti (OGDNH), which brings together the heads of hotels in Cap-Haïtien, the Tourism office of Puerto-Plata, the Association of Hotels, Restaurants and Companies of Tourism of the North and the Touristic Cluster of Puerta-Plata.
The heads of hotels and tour operators held separate meetings to analyze the stages to follow and to discuss the proposed multi-destinations.
Rosa Maria Garcia, president of the CCDH, declared that the proposal of multi-destination to promote the attractions of Cap-Haïtien and Puerto Plata will be able to "sow seeds allowing the realization of the development of tourism in the northern part of the island."
She called upon the businessmen in both countries "to mutually contribute to promote tourism between both countries" and noted that the heads of hotels of Puerto Plata have invited and dedicated the next international tourism fair to Haiti.
It should be reminded that in 2012 then Minister of Tourism, Stéphanie Balmir Villedrouin, launched the multi-destination tourism project and signed the first agreements between Puerto-Rico, the Dominican Republic and Haiti during the OPERTUR show in the Dominican Republic. That same year a multi-destination tourism initiative was presented between Puerto-Plata and Cap-Haïtian.
On eve of high-level U.N. Haiti visit, Trump continues to say ‘No’ to cholera request
Earlier this fall, as the United Nations’ blue-helmet peacekeepers began theirwithdrawal from Haiti, many of their countries rushed to the beleaguered nation’s aid, turning over millions of dollars in unspent peacekeeping dollars to help eliminate a deadly cholera epidemic.
Some countries, faced with roadblocks in their parliaments, reprogrammed dollars. Others, like Norway, added an additional $465,000 to its $335,000 refund.
But the United States, which had already stated its opposition to U.N. Secretary General António Guterres’ requestover reassigning $11 million in unspent Haiti peacekeeping money, is refusing even though the Senate Appropriations Committee gave it the green light in September. The Senate provision allows the Trump administration to use the unspent peacekeeping dollars for Haiti’s cholera plan.
In June, Michele Sison, the U.S. deputy permanent representative to the United Nations — and Trump’s nominee for U.S. ambassador to Haiti — told Guterres during a public hearing that while the U.S. supports the request “in principle,” it was “not in a position to contribute in this way.” The U.S. mission noted that it had contributed more than $100 million to the outbreak since it was introduced in Haiti by peacekeepers, 10 months after the earthquake. Three months later, the mission followed up with a Sept. 11 letter to Guterres restating its formal opposition, citing U.S. law.
“If the administration is concerned about this tragedy as they profess to be, they need to contribute,” said Tim Rieser, foreign policy aide to Sen. Patrick Leahy, the Vermont Democrat and committee vice chairman who pushed the provision allowing the administration to turn over the funds.
“The administration refuses to use the authority Sen. Leahy provided, but neither have they proposed to use other funds for this purpose,” Rieser said.
Of an unspent $40.5 million that Guterres was hoping to get reassigned, only $3.2 million from 30 nations has trickled in so far, frustrating U.N. officials. Among them is U.N. Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed, who is leading a high-level visit to Haiti Friday through Sunday to show U.N. commitment to the country and its faltering democracy.
“There are many, many crises in the world but you would think...you would get a better response than we have had from the international community,” Mohammed said. “This is not a large amount of money. And whatever we get makes a big difference, and we will plow it into what we’re doing.”
Haitian cholera activist Berthony Clermont demands the U.N. compensates victims of the cholera outbreak following the 2010 earthquake.