The American Ambassador in Haiti, Michèle J. Sison, visited the Northern part of the country
The American Ambassador in Haiti, Michel J. Sison, on Tuesday, February 13, toured the Northern Department, where she visited the Caracol Industrial Park, which opened in 2012 and is financed in collaboration with the United States and the Inter-American Development Bank of the Haitian government. Following her visit to the park to inquire firsthand about the day to day operations and see the progress, she made a stop at the campus of Henry Christophe University in Cap Haitian where she made a speech.
The following is an exert of her speech:
“…Haiti is leading its own development journey, designing and implementing solutions to its own unique challenges. And we, the U.S. Embassy, are here to work together with Haiti to support a prosperous and democratic future for all Haitians.
We are proud that U.S. assistance is helping advance economic opportunities for Haitians; develop a comprehensive food security strategy; provide access to basic health care and water and sanitation services; strengthen institutions and governance; and improve educational opportunities for youth.
Haiti has held a very special place in my heart. I began my diplomatic career in 1982 as a young diplomat in Port-au-Prince, and I have always remembered the warmth of the Haitian people, the country's great natural beauty, and Haiti's unique culture.
… I always wanted to return to Haiti, and I am so happy to be here with you today.
Haiti and the United States share a strong commitment to freedom, democracy, and the rule of law.
We also share a long history, and our futures are closely linked through the nearly one million Haitian-Americans who contribute to prosperity in the United States and to the economic growth of Haiti.
The United States has a tremendous amount of respect for the Haitian people, and we are very proud of our partnership with Haiti.
When I think back to my first diplomatic assignment to Haiti, in the 1980s, it was clear even in those days that Haiti needed strong State institutions, good governance, and transparency to ensure prosperity and economic growth.
This is also true today.
Today, after a period of political impasse, Haiti has a democratically elected government in place. The United States and the international community have a long-term partner with whom we can engage to help the country build a promising future. We continue to work hard to support the goals and vision of the Haitian government and the aspirations of its people.
Effectively, we are working together for Haiti's bright future.
Our partnerships with Haiti reflect our respect and admiration for the Haitian people, a population that has demonstrated dignity and resilience even during the most difficult of times such as the 2010 earthquake and recent hurricanes.
…The Caracol Industrial Park is the largest modern facility of its kind in the Caribbean, and it directly supports the Government of Haiti's goal of creating centers of economic activity outside the capital of Port-au-Prince by encouraging decentralization and promoting job creation.
During my visit to the Caracol Industrial Park yesterday, I was very impressed by the results of this key partnership between the United States, the Government of Haiti, and the BID.
Since its launch in 2012, the Caracol Industrial Park has created close to 13,000 jobs in Haiti's northern corridor, and its power plant provides reliable and affordable electricity to thousands of individuals and small businesses. The anchor tenant, Sae-A Trading, has become the largest private sector employer in Haiti. That is truly impressive!
This really represents a cascade of income for people, and I believe this successful model could certainly be replicated elsewhere in the country.
Job creation is a priority for our U.S. Embassy, and I know it is a priority for you and for the Haitian government as well.
The question of local economic growth here in Haiti is of critical importance—we all agree that the Haitian State must generate revenues through customs and taxation, so the State can fulfill its responsibilities to the people in supporting health, education, and other social services. And I know we all agree that the only way to succeed in doing that is by creating economic growth, and by creating additional economic opportunities.
I just can't emphasize this enough. It is important to work together on this.
The private sector of course has a big role to play in this. I was glad to visit yesterday the Royal Caribbean cruise lines site at Labadee, where thousands of Americans and foreigners visit each month. What a beautiful place. And I know that H.E. President Moise recently inaugurated the Labadee road, a key piece of infrastructure which will boost the tourism sector in northern Haiti.
… [In the agricultural sector] some 70,000 farmers have increased incomes thanks to U.S. programs in support of the Haitian government's agricultural sector priorities, while the U.S. government has also introduced improved seeds, fertilizer, irrigation, and other new technologies to over 118,000 farmers.
We are proud to contribute to Haiti's national agricultural production and we believe that H.E. President Jovenel Moise, with the special attention he brings to agriculture under the Caravan of Change, is also committed to increasing opportunities for the Haitian people to bolster national agricultural production.
Here in Cap-Haitien, with support from USAID under the Feed the Future initiative, the University of Georgia is helping Haitian farmers grow peanuts more profitably and partnering with the NGO "Meds & Food for Kids" to produce high-quality, nutritious foods, known locally as "Medika Mamba."
…According to the latest studies, many of Haiti's health indicators continue to improve. Through the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), USAID, and PEPFAR, the United States has worked with the Government of Haiti and partners to combat HIV/AIDS, improve the delivery of basic health care services, maternal and child health, nutrition, labs, and public health research.
… In support of rule of law, the bilateral cooperation between our two countries also supports the Haitian National Police, improving its institutional capacity and growing its ranks to better serve the Haitian people.
We started this work together more than 20 years ago, and it is a critical cornerstone of our bilateral engagement with Haiti.
Haiti now has a trained police force of 15,000 officers; a professional force that is trained to respect human rights and protect the Haitian people.
One of my key goals as the new U.S. Ambassador to Haiti is to work to ensure strong coordination between the Haitian government and our U.S. assistance projects in all of these crucial sectors.
It is also important for us to keep in mind the many important factors working in Haiti's favor, including its young and energetic population, its vibrant civil society, and its active and independent media.
So, to sum up, before we move to a question and answer session:
We look forward to continuing to work with Haiti to strengthen the rule of law, enhance food security and health services, and create jobs and greater economic and educational opportunities for the Haitian people. All of this, of course, is in support of Haiti's own development objectives and priorities.
I can promise you that I will do my best to promote this vibrant U.S.-Haitian partnership.
Coast Guard repatriates 201 migrants by sea to Haiti
A total of 201 Haitians were returned to Haiti Wednesday by the U.S. Coast Guard, the agency said, after two overloaded boats were intercepted near the Bahamas.
A Coast Guard MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter spotted a 50-foot freighter Sunday, 30 miles east of Great Inagua Island. The 86 migrants from that freighter were picked up by the Coast Guard cutter Tahoma. The next day, the Tahoma gathered 115 migrants from a 50-foot sail freighter three miles east of Sunday’s pickup.
Migrants get food, water and medical attention when picked up by Coast Guard cutters.
“The waters of the Caribbean and Florida Straits are dangerous and unforgiving for migrants on illegal voyages, in overloaded vessels with little or no safety gear, needlessly placing lives at risk,” said Rear Adm. Peter Brown, commander of Coast Guard 7th District. “The Coast Guard and its partner agencies continue to maintain a strong presence along our maritime border and will continue to interdict and rescue those who embark on these illegal and ill-advised voyages in these unsafe vessels.”
The Coast Guard says about 1,040 Haitian migrants have been caught trying to illegally enter the United States by sea since Oct. 1. In the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, 1,869 Haitian migrants were caught attempting to do so.
David J. Neal
Haitians in South Florida, New York latest to sue Trump over TPS
A group of South Florida Haitian immigrants are among the latest plaintiffs challenging President Donald Trump’s decision to terminate Temporary Protected Status, which — until recently — has shielded them from deportation.
In a federal lawsuit filed Thursday in the Eastern District of New York, the plaintiffs argue that Trump and the Department of Homeland Security “employed an invalid and unauthorized process to terminate Haiti’s TPS designation irrespective of the statutory criteria for review enacted by Congress.”
The plaintiffs include three South Floridians, seven New Yorkers, the weekly Brooklyn-based Haitian newspaper, Haïti Liberté, and a Miami-based Haitian rights advocacy group, Family Action Network Movement, or FANM, an organization previously known as the Haitian Women of Miami.
“People are afraid to go to the supermarkets. Businesses are suffering ...We’ve definitely seen an increase in the level of services requested from families as a result of the termination of TPS and it’s not only within the Haitian population. Immigrant families in general are suffering,” said Marleine Bastien, FANM’s founder and executive director. “Family members are keeping children away from schools because of the fear.”
Steve Forester, immigration policy coordinator with the Boston-based Institute for Justice & Democracy in Haiti, noted that one of the plaintiffs is a New York man with cerebral palsy whose caretaker died in the 2010 Haiti earthquake and now is dependent on his brother, a U.S. citizen, for his personal and medical care.
“What is supposed to happen to this man?” asked Forester, who lives in Miami. “The human dimension of this should not be forgotten.”
Asylum Seekers Sue U.S. Government Over Prolonged Detention
March 15, 2018, at 12:01 p.m.
BY READE LEVINSON
NEW YORK (Reuters) - A group of migrants seeking asylum in the United States sued the Trump administration on Thursday, claiming the government is unfairly keeping them in custody while they pursue their cases in immigration court.
The class-action lawsuit on behalf of nine plaintiffs, brought by the American Civil Liberties Union and immigrant rights groups and filed in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., alleges five U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) field offices have detained virtually all adults seeking asylum at a port of entry.
The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, said it does not comment on pending litigation and the Justice Department declined to comment.
President Donald Trump promised during his 2016 campaign to clamp down on illegal immigration and keep immigrants who contest deportation locked up during the process.
Under a 2009 ICE directive, border-crossers applying for asylum and having a "credible fear" of persecution or torture in their home countries can be released from detention on a case-by-case basis for humanitarian reasons.
The lawsuit said in 2013, 92 percent of asylum seekers found to have credible fear were promptly released from custody in the five field offices. Today, the lawsuit says, few are released.
U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions has said the asylum process has been "subject to rampant abuse and fraud" and that releasing immigrants as they pursue asylum claims created "incentives for illegal aliens to come here and claim a fear of return."
The practice of releasing asylum seekers is "still in place on paper" but "is effectively a dead letter" in practice, ACLU attorney Michael Tan said in an interview.
A recent decision by the U.S. Supreme Court found asylum seekers who crossed the border illegally do not have a right to a bond hearing in immigration court, making the need for ICE's policy of humanitarian parole all the more urgent, Tan said.
The lawsuit alleges that ICE offices in Detroit, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, El Paso, Texas, and Newark, New Jersey, are violating the U.S. Constitution and the agency's own policy guidelines by refusing the release most immigrants. The five offices oversee the detention of about one-quarter of the agency's average daily population of detainees.
The lead plaintiff is Ansly Damus, 41, an ethics teacher who fled political persecution in Haiti. He was twice granted asylum by a judge, according to the suit, but has remained locked up in Ohio for more than 16 months while the government appeals his case.
(Deletes extraneous word "them" in lead paragraph.)
(Reporting by Reade Levinson; Editing by Bill Trott)
Business
Toys R Us to close all 800 of its U.S. stores
Toy store chain Toys R Us is planning to sell or close all 800 of its U.S. stores, affecting as many as 33,000 jobs as the company winds down its operations after six decades, according to a source familiar with the matter.
The news comes six months after the retailer filed for bankruptcy. The company has struggled to pay down nearly $8 billion in debt — much of it dating to a 2005 leveraged buyout — and has had trouble finding a buyer. There were reports earlier this week that Toys R Us had stopped paying its suppliers, which include the country’s largest toymakers. On Wednesday, the company announced it would close all 100 of its U.K. stores. In the United States, the company told employees closures would likely occur over time, and not all at once, according to the source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss internal deliberations.
All 6 Victims Recovered in FIU Bridge Collapse
By MAHITA GAJANAN, ABIGAIL ABRAMS, and ELI MEIXLER Updated: March 18, 2018 4:23 PM ET | Originally published: March 15, 2018 by Time Magazine
Police have recovered the remains of all six victims who died in the Florida International University bridge collapse.
The new 950-ton pedestrian bridge was designed primarily to allow students to safely cross Southwest Eight Street in order to reach the business district in the City of Sweetwater. It was installed at FIU on Saturday, March 10th, and it collapsed a few days later, on the afternoon of Thursday, March 15th, onto Southwest Eighth Street. In addition to the six people killed by the bridge collapse, several others were hospitalized.
Authorities said late Saturday that all six people who died were recovered. Five people were killed when the bridge fell, while the sixth person died at the hospital, the AP reports stated.
Police said while they believe all the victims from the bridge collapse were recovered, they would continue the search and rescue.
Three of the victims were found Saturday morning in two vehicles. A third vehicle was extracted from the collapse later on Saturday, though police did not say whether there was a body inside.
Miami-Dade Police Director Juan Perez said the bodies may need to be identified through DNA, fingerprints or photos. Eight vehicles were trapped under the bridge when it fell.
Federal and state law enforcement are still investigating the cause of the bridge collapse after first responders spent hours on rescue and recovery efforts, according to the AP.