Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns joined 33 other faith and civil society organizations in a letter to President Biden and Vice President Harris requesting protections for Haiti and Haitians, namely ending the mass deportation of Haitians, stemming the flow of guns to Haiti, sanctions against the specific individuals responsible for human rights abuses, and encouraging locally-led development. Read this statement as a PDF.
LETTER TO THE BIDEN-HARRIS ADMINISTRATION REQUESTING IMMEDIATE STEPS TO PROTECT HAITI AND HAITIANS
December 3, 2024
Dear President Biden and Vice-President Harris,
The undersigned Haitian diaspora, faith-based and civic organizations urge you to take the following immediate steps to protect Haiti and Haitians.
1. Take steps now that will help communities stop mass deportations of Haitians and other
immigrants.
- Redesignate TPS for Haiti, given the well-founded inability of Haitians to safely return to Haiti. This would protect 37,000 Haitians who arrived since the last designation. We support TPS extension for all other countries, including Sudan and Nicaragua, which like Haiti face extreme challenges.
- Extend work permits and expedite work permit processing for people who have received parole as part of the Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans (CHNV) program.
2. Take steps now to support efforts to stem the flow of weapons to Haiti
- All tracing and FOIA requests related to weapons flows should be processed (including in particular all outstanding tracing requests by the UN Panel of Experts and reconsideration or grant of all UN Panel of Experts FOIA requests).
- The Department of Justice’s Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) should increase the number of firearms recovered in Haiti that are submitted for tracing. ATF should also ensure that the public has access to the tracing data so that the public can hold dealers and manufacturers accountable.
- ATF should expand its “Demand Letter 3” program to cover states linked to arms trafficking to Haiti and in particular, Florida. Under Demand Letter 3, federal firearms licensees in the identified states must notify ATF if they sell someone multiple semiautomatic rifles in a five-day period.
3. Human Rights, Corruption, and Gender-based Violence
- Issue a statement expressing USG's commitment to women's rights and support for the Policy Framework for an Effective and Equitable Transition in Haiti and implementing its recommendations, especially appointing women to a minimum 30% of fully empowered leadership positions.
- Award and urgently (prior to January 20) commence disbursements on grants to local women-focused organizations, especially those working at the grassroots level. It is critical that funding support not only the provision of critical services like comprehensive support for survivors of gender-based violence but also activities aimed at women’s full participation and inclusion in leadership and decision-making.
- Issue a statement calling for full investigations into corruption allegations within the transitional government of Haiti.
- Call for the transitional government to implement domestically all international sanctions (or, at minimum, investigate the underlying allegations)
- Implement additional sanctions against all individuals credibly implicated in human rights violations and corruption, and strengthen sanctions already leveraged against individuals complicit in Haiti’s present crisis to be commensurate with their role and better able to deter further harmful activities. As a specific example, increase the extremely light sanctions regime applied to former president Michel Martelly to a level appropriate for the serious criminal activities that the US accuses him of.
4. Locally-led Development
- Move USAID and Inter-American Foundation resources now to support community-led development efforts in Haiti. These efforts support social cohesion and strengthen local systems, and are critical to a sustainable peace. Include assistance to small-scale farmers in responding to drought and climate change so they can play a larger role in responding to hunger in Haiti.
Given the extraordinary targeting and vilification of Haitian Americans during the election and the humanitarian crisis facing Haiti, it crucial that you take full advantage of the remaining time in office to take concrete action to protect Haitians and Haiti.
Sincerely,
Faith in Action International
Institute for Justice & Democracy in Haiti
True Alliance Center Inc.
Haitian Americans United Inc.
Brazilian Women’s Group
Faith in New Jersey
Sisters of Charity of Saint Elizabeth
Pax Christi USA
Quixote Center
Parish Twinning Program of the Americas
Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns
St. Francis de Sales Catholic Church
Children’s Health Ministries
Haiti Communitere
D&E Green Enterprises
Dominican Sisters of Sparkill
Sisters of Mercy of the Americas Justice Team
Franciscan Peace Center, Clinton, Iowa
Seeds of Hope for Haiti Inc.
Leadership Team of the Felician Sisters of North America
Sisters of the Humility of Mary
St. Katharine Drexel Haiti Parish Partnership
Clean Water for Haiti
Angel Missions Haiti
Holy Spirit Missionary Sisters, USA-JPIC
Rich in Mercy Institute
Congregation of the Holy Spirit
St. Patrick and St Anthony Church
Haiti Mission Blessed Sacrament Parish
Mennonite Central Committee U.S.
National Advocacy Center of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd
Congregation of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd, U.S. Provinces
Roots of Development
Massachusetts Action for Justice
Photo of Maryknoll Lay Missioner Sami Scott at the Haiti Advocacy Days in Washington, DC, 2024 by Dan Moriarty.