March 24, 2022
OPEN LETTER TO PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN TO END TITLE 42!
The Honorable President Joe Biden The Honorable Vice President Kamala Harris
President of the United States Vice President of the United States
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500 Washington, DC 20500
Ambassador Susan Rice Cedric Richmond
Director of the Domestic Policy Council Senior Advisor to the President
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20500 Washington, DC 20500
Jake Sullivan The Honorable Alejandro Mayorkas
National Security Advisor Secretary of Homeland Security
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Washington, DC 20500 301 7th St, SW
Washington, DC 20528
The Honorable Antony Blinken Assistant Secretary Brian Nichols
Secretary of State Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs
US Department of State US Department of State
2201 C St, NW 2201 C St, NW
Washington, DC 20520 Washington, DC 20520
FAMILY ACTION NETWORK MOVEMENT (FANM) CALLS FOR THE IMMEDIATE END OF TITLE-42 EXPULSIONS OF HAITIAN REFUGEES!
Dear President Biden,
Today, the Family Action Network Movement, FANM, an organization committed to racial justice in the immigration policy of the United States, is joining in the letters and calls from elected officials, such as U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), New Jersey Senator Cory Booker and Missouri Congresswoman Cori Bush, Massachusetts Congresswoman Ayana Pressley and New York Congressman Mondaire Jones, and a chorus of 14 U.S. Senators and 88 Representatives in Congress, to demand an end to the deportations and Title-42 expulsions of Haitian Nationals. Haitians, like nationals of other black-majority nations which are undergoing strife and turmoil in many ways, must be protected from deportation and expulsion. The United States is violating domestic and international laws, protocols and conventions it has signed (such as the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and the United Nations Torture Convention) when it deports refugees without due process. The Convention clearly states that the U.S. should not deport refugees to countries where they might be subjected to violence, torture, or death. Haiti clearly fits these descriptions of internationally-recognized needs for refugee protections, which were the basis for the Biden Administration’s Temporary Protected Status recognition for Haiti.
“Title 42 violates our sacred obligations under international law to accept refugees at our borders who are fleeing oppression,” says Ira Kurzban, Miami-based Civil Rights and Immigration Attorney. “We can hardly condemn Vladimir Putin when we violate international laws at our Southern border every day. And why do we do it? Solely based on the phony claim that we are stopping COVID-19.”
“Two wrongs don’t make a right. This administration’s decision to continue to mis-apply Title 42 to refugees is only adding to one of the past administration’s worst wrongs,” Immigration attorney Clarel Cyriaque said. It’s also doubly wrong to continue to scapegoat Haitian refugees by expelling them in such large numbers under Title 42 when Haiti is experiencing some of its worst turmoil. This administration promised to protect refugees. It must stop repeating the abuses of the last administration.”
“While claiming deportations are down, you have used Title 42 to circumvent asylum and human rights protections and expel about 21,000 Haitians – about 45% of them women and children, including hundreds of infants aged 0-2 years old - on 210 flights to Haiti, the vast majority of them under Title 42,” says Steve Forester, Immigration Policy Coordinator, Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti. “It’s a continuation of discrimination against these black immigrants and respectfully, must stop.”
The arrival of these refugees does not come as a surprise, given the ongoing turmoil in Haiti, amidst widespread insecurity, kidnapping, state sponsored killings, gender-based violence and other atrocities against activists, journalists, workers compounded by natural disasters and challenges stemming from the COVID 19 pandemic. We are hereby urging you to release all refugees in their own recognizance, and not deport them to Haiti, where their lives might be in danger. Our fellow sisters and brothers arriving by land or sea, now detained by U.S. authorities, mustered great courage to leave everything behind and embark on a treacherous journey for survival. Haitian refugees left by necessity, not choice, and have suffered great trauma and loss. They come to the U.S. in search of safe haven, so they deserve to be treated with fairness. They are here seeking refuge, the U.S. has a legal obligation to afford them the basic right of due process.
“At this point, the only purpose served by Title 42 expulsions is to circumvent our duly enacted immigration laws and obligations under international treaties, particularly regarding due process for those seeking safety and security from persecution in their own country,” says Randy McGrorty, Executive Director of Catholic Legal Services, Archdiocese of Miami.
President Biden, you promised to bring equity and justice to your administration. It is time to end the double standard and free the Haitian refugees now.
We urge you to act promptly on this issue and “End Title 42!"
In Unity ,
Marleine Bastien
Executive Director, Family Action Network Movement (FANM)
100 NE 84th St.
Miami, FL 33137
(305) 756-8050
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