Jeh Johnson, the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, announced on Wednesday that the number of deportations to Haiti will increase over the next few weeks. This is because of the increase in undocumented immigrants from Haiti arriving on the southern border between the US and Mexico, and an increasing lack of detention space.
Johnson says that with a rise in the number of undocumented immigrants caught on the southern border, he has instructed immigration enforcement and border security personnel to take measures ensuring they are able to keep up with the increase. Earlier in November, immigration officials in the US elected to release several Haitians arriving in Arizona and California due to a dearth of beds in detention facilities. The number of detention facilities is somewhere between 31,000 and 34,000.
Over the past few weeks, several hundred undocumented Haitian immigrants have been sent back to Haiti. Of the 41,000 immigrants currently being held in detention centers, 4,400 are from Haiti. Haitian nationals covered by Temporary Protected Status (TPS) will not be affected by the return to deportation flights – they will remain eligible for authorization for employment in the US. TPS has been extended through to 22 July next year.
Family members wanting information about their detained relatives are urged to contact the Embassy of Haiti, in Washington DC. A moratorium on the deportation of non-criminal immigrants to Haiti ended on 22 September.