United States: indignation after the expulsion of Haitian migrants during a pandemic

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Despite the health crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, the United States has not suspended the expulsion of irregular migrants arrested on their territory. Tuesday, April 7, 68 Haitians were returned to Port-au-Prince. An operation widely denounced both in the United States by elected members of Congress and in Haiti. Faced with indignation and fears, the Haitian authorities are confident and play the card of national solidarity.

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With our correspondent in Port au Prince, Amélie Baron

The Haitian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Claude Joseph, wanted to be reassuring. At a press conference, he assured that a medical check had been carried out by the American Immigration Agency before the departure of the 68 Haitians expelled by the United States. And when they arrived in Port-au-Prince, Tuesday, April 7, these repressed migrants were placed in quarantine.

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However, the Minister did not detail either the place or the methods of this sanitary isolation. The objective of the Haitian state is to show that it assumes its responsibilities towards its nationals, ensures that the population is united with its compatriots and does not give in to panic .

Claude Joseph even assured that, given the spread of the epidemic in the United States , removing these Haitians from American detention centers, where they risked being contaminated with coronavirus, was " almost like a humanitarian corridor ".

The continuation of migratory expulsions in times of pandemic infuriates many Haitians and foreigners active in the field of human rights. These people recall that, since the beginning of March, the United States has advised its citizens not to travel to Haiti, because of the increase in kidnappings, but also because of the very great weakness of the Haitian health system.

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• United States
• Haiti
• Immigration
• Coronavirus

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