US expulsion of Haitian asylum seekers a ‘moral failure’

Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas announced last week that 13,000 Haitian asylum seekers have been conditionally permitted to enter the United States, and 3,000 are in detention.

The entry news is welcome, but ongoing detention of thousands of asylum seekers and other recent treatment of Haitians by the government are not acceptable. We watched with great disappointment and indignation as the U.S. government, which purports to put human rights first in its foreign policy, made the inhumane and counterproductive decision to expel thousands more Haitian asylum seekers last month.

They were returned to a place where violence is endemic and a recent earthquake took the lives of more than 2,500 people and left thousands of homes and businesses in ruins.

While there appears to be no political consequences for the Biden administration, save for a stern statement from the head of the UN Refugee Agency, the moral failure is clear. Under U.S. law, people who are physically present in the United States or who arrive in the United States (no matter how they arrive) may request asylum and should be given the chance to make the case that they have a credible fear of persecution or fear for their lives if they return to their country of origin.

The Haitians who had gathered in Del Rio, Texas, asked for nothing more than an opportunity to realize their right to request protection in the United States. Yet many were expelled by the United States back to Haiti, where gangs pose a constant threat that the government is unwilling or unable to address. This included dozens of children, who were deposited by U.S. officials in Port-au-Prince without confirming that they were Haitian citizens. Others were sent to Mexico, where they also face violence, racial discrimination and financial insecurity.

Haiti is a poor country, but more than this: It is a failed state. Unemployment is the norm, and corruption rules in places of power. More than 4 million people face starvation. Family members are kidnapped and held hostage by armed gangs.

This past summer, political violence boiled over into a destabilizing assassination. Now, as the U.S. deports asylum seekers to Haiti, many are unable to return to their places of origin because so much of the capital is controlled by gangs.

And for the past 50 years or so, the U.S. government has done little to support good governance.

Instead, the United States, a nation that promotes science, is abusing public health policy by enforcing Title 42 and using the global pandemic as an excuse to ignore its obligations to asylum seekers.

Epidemiologists and public health experts across the U.S. have opposed Title 42 as a public health measure and urged the Biden administration to restart asylum.

As Catholics, one of our core beliefs is that it is never too late to turn around, change course and pursue what is right. And so it is for American leadership and American policies. The United States must consistently provide the opportunity to request asylum and must work with the Haitian government and local partners to ensure that those who were sent back to Haiti have access to services and that their basic needs are met.

The same goes for the 8,000 Haitians who were sent to Mexico. The United States should also pursue the long-term solution of resuming a regular practice of asylum management, processing those who seek protection into the United States and hearing their claims before a court of law.

This wave of Haitian asylum seekers will not end as long as the country continues to suffer from gang rule, violence and the irresponsibility of its elites. The opportunity to seek asylum is a human right that shouldn’t be denied. These facts cannot be wished away, rounded up with horses or put on a plane to another place.

The United States and its leaders can pretend that after 50 years of failed aid it doesn’t understand the threats Haitians face, but not without risking their humanity.

Fr. Jean Denis Saint-Félix SJ is the Jesuit Superior of Haiti. Joan Rosenhuaer is the executive director of Jesuit Refugee Service/USA. ©2021 The Baltimore Sun. Visit at baltimoresun.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.