From Amnesty International USA (http://www.amnestyusa.org):
We just released a report (1) exposing the inhumane treatment of Haitian asylum-seekers by U.S. authorities over the past year. It’s horrifying:
Children were detained and deported — even babies as young as nine days old.
While detained, asylum-seekers were denied interpreters, legal representation, and basic information about their detention.
Thousands of people were forced on deportation flights in handcuffs and shackles, without a chance to go through an asylum assessment, many of whom didn’t even know they were being deported until they recognized Haiti from the plane.
We urgently need your help — Act now at https://act.amnestyusa.org/page/90623/action/1 to demand that U.S. authorities stop ill-treating and deporting Haitian asylum-seekers.
We all saw the viral photos of Customs and Border Protection officers charging into crowds of Haitian asylum-seekers on horseback in Del Rio, Texas — violently dispersing them… taunting them… and forcing them away from safety.
The Biden administration acknowledged this inhumane treatment as “horrible” because of its association with slavery.
We agree. Amnesty research confirms that the use of restraints on Haitian asylum-seekers amounts to race-based torture under international human rights law.
Sadly, this is just the latest chapter in a long history of violence against Haitians seeking safety in the United States, rooted in systemic anti-Black discrimination.
And the situation is only worsening — Amnesty’s report found that between September 2021 and May 2022, 25,806 Haitian asylum-seekers were deported back in at least 227 flights from the U.S. (compared to a total of 37 flights in all of 2020).
One significant action that our elected leaders can take right now is to ensure an end to Title 42, and restore asylum at the border. Title 42 was implemented by President Trump, and the Biden administration tried to end it, but U.S. courts intervened. Every day, the human right to seek asylum is under threat as people continue to be expelled under Title 42 and lawmakers try to make the policy permanent.
Yesterday, we took our outrage right to the steps of The Capitol in Washington D.C., where Amnesty International, along with our partners at Haitian Bridge Alliance, demanded action. Today, we’re asking you to take action, too.
Only a powerful outcry can ensure that these horrific events NEVER happen again.
[1] https://www.amnestyusa.org/reports/torture-haitian-asylum-seekers-us-rooted-anti-black-racism/ [2] https://www.npr.org/2022/09/07/1120775143/after-del-rio-some-haitian-migrants-found-safety-in-the-u-s-but-many-have-not
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