After an arduous journey across several countries, during which they often face physical and sexual abuse, Haitians will soon be detained at the U.S. border before being deported. Since the 2010 earthquake, the U.S. had stopped non-criminal deportations of Haitians but now, the Department of Homeland Security has announced that the policy will change. Right now, it seems that many Haitians are continuing on their journey to the US border but it is likely that those on their way may start finding alternate paths into the country to get around the new restriction. IJDH Immigration Policy Coordinator Steve Forester is quoted in this article.

Part of the article is below. Click HERE for the full text.

Uncertainty for Haitians in Tijuana

Sandra Dibble, The San Diego Union-Tribune
September 23, 2016

Hundreds of Haitians in Tijuana preparing to present themselves to U.S. officials at the San Ysidro Port of Entry face an unpleasant surprise: the probability of detention — and eventual deportation to their impoverished country — under a new policy announced this week by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

A day after the changes went into effect, the Haitian men who gathered in small groups on Friday morning outside the Desayunador Salesiano Padre Chava, a shelter and soup kitchen, said they had heard nothing, and asked anxiously for details.

“I don’t believe it,” Miterson Derisseau, a 25-year-old tile-setter from Port-au-Prince said in French.

“Did Obama’s party decide this? He has a generous heart, he cannot deport us to our country, ” added Derisseau, who hopes to join his sister in Boston.

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