Immigrants deported to Haiti▶ Click here for a larger view
Jan, 28, a Haitian, left her poor country and went to Chile. I did whatever I could to save money, and with that money, I headed to the United States with my husband and 3-year-old son.
After two months of perilous journeys through South and Central America, he finally set foot on American soil, but he was eventually deported and had to return to Haiti, where he had left five years ago.
Jan is one of 327 Haitians deported from Texas to Port-au-Prince on the 19th (local time) by three planes, AFP news agency reported.
About 15,000 Haitians, including Jan, set up a huge refugee camp under a bridge over the Rio Grande River in Texas after they recently entered the United States via Mexico.
They had hopes to settle in the United States when the US government extended the provision of temporary protective status (TPS) to Haitians by 18 months in August, but the rule did not apply to new immigrants crossing the border.
As too many immigrants flocked at once, the U.S. government decided to return them to their home countries under deportation rules enacted in the name of preventing the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).
Haitians crossing the river from Mexico to the United States on the 17th (local time)▶ Click here for a larger view
Many of those deported were those who had once immigrated to South American countries such as Chile and Brazil a few years ago, and many including children and pregnant women. About half of those who arrived in Port-au-Prince on the 19th were under the age of five, AFP said.
Those who had endured hard labor and difficult journeys in other countries with the American dream returned to the starting point and expressed their sense of despair.
“I left Haiti for a better future,” a woman named Stephanie told Reuters. “If I had a job here, I wouldn’t have suffered like this in another country.”
Haiti, one of the poorest countries with a poverty rate of 60%, is suffering from repeated natural disasters, deterioration of security, and political turmoil. The situation was further exacerbated by the assassination of President Jobnel Moise in July and the devastating earthquake last month.
Jan also said, “If I could have worked here, I would never have left. But the situation has gotten worse.” He said, “People enter the president’s house and kill them, so can I be reassured?”
Immigrants also complained about the poor treatment they received after being transferred to a US immigration detention center.
“President Joe Biden knows what’s going on, but he doesn’t care. He treats us worse than animals,” one woman said in tears.
The door to the United States does not open easily, but the number of Haitians seeking a new life does not diminish.
Thousands of Haitians are stranded on the southern Mexican border as they continue to try to make their way north to the United States.
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