(San Antonio) – The Haitian Bridge Alliance has called for demonstrations in cities across the country on Thursday, October 14, 2021, to demand an end to President Biden’s inhumane mass expulsions of Haitian asylum seekers and mistreatment of Black migrants. RAICES, along with advocacy groups and individuals across the country, will be participating and hosting a Rally and Press Conference at the San Antonio Federal Building as well as co-sponsoring a vigil and Press Conference in Austin, TX.
We have been at the front lines bearing witness to the harsh mistreatment of Black Immigrants in detention and as they seek to claim their human right to seek asylum, and we will Not Look Away. As a National Organization we will be supporting and uplifting the Hatian Bridge Alliance policy demands for the Biden administration to; halt all expulsion flights to Haiti, end Title 42, and grant humanitarian parole to Haitian asylum seekers.
We have effectively denied Black immigrants the legal right to seek asylum in the U.S., abused and harmed children and families at the encampment in Del Rio, and deported over 4,000 back to a country that does not have the infrastructure to receive them under Title 42 — a racist, Trump-era policy that Biden has extended to turn people seeking safety in the U.S. away under the guise of public health.
“Rather than allowing families to seek refuge in our country — which is legal under U.S. law and international law — the Biden administration has chosen to further promulgate the Trump administration’s racist and xenophobic policies by expelling thousands of Haitians under Title 42. The Biden administration has lost its way and needs to remember its promises from the election. Migrants deserve better. Our country deserves better.”, said Tami Goodlette, Director of Litigation at RAICES.
The cruel and reprehensible treatment of Haitian migrants at the border goes far beyond the horrific photos we saw last week. The actions of immigration officers on horseback reflect a much larger broken immigration system steeped in racism and cruelty. The high level of anti-Blackness embedded in the immigration system was shown to the world when pictures of Customs and Border Patrol agents on horses and reins were chasing Black asylum seekers. This treatment is unlike any other that we have seen for any other groups of migrants seeking safety.
This call to action is the start of an escalating campaign to inform the Biden-Harris Administration that the issue is not forgotten, especially in light of the fact that U.S. political intervention plays a role in why Black migrants flee home. We will not look away and stop until all of our policy demands are met; halting all expulsion flights to Haiti, ending Title 42, and granting humanitarian parole to Haitian asylum seekers.
For more information on this National Day of Protest visit https://www.nomoredeportations.org
Contact:
Jessica Ortiz
[email protected]
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