Earlier this week, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) posted a
new policy that may lead to additional deportations to Haiti. Just
after the January 2010 earthquake that gravely affected Haiti, ICE
halted all deportations to Haiti out of concern for people that would
have been deported. In late January, however, ICE shifted its policy
and deported 27 people to Haiti. One of those people died within days
of arriving in Haiti, potentially of cholera, and another became very
sick soon after arriving.
Many immigration and human rights organizations have voiced their
concerns with ICE’s reversal of policy and are asking that the federal
agency return to a halt of deportations.
“One year after the earthquake, Haiti remains in ruins and is now
confronting a cholera epidemic. Our government is sending people back
to horrific circumstances, possibly even death,” said David Leopold,
president of the American Immigration Lawyers’ Association. “AILA urges
the Obama Administration to immediately suspend deportations while
life-threatening conditions in Haiti persist.”
