United States: authorities criticized for their treatment of Haitian migrants
The wooden boat carrying 356 Haitian migrants that ran aground off the Florida Keys on March 6, 2022. AP
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More than 350 Haitian migrants, who arrived Sunday March 6 in Key Largo, Florida on a makeshift boat, were detained.
In Miami, organizations defending Haitian migrants demand their immediate release and denounce the expulsions carried out by the Biden administration.
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With our correspondent in Miami,
David Thomson
Their old wooden boat ran aground on Sunday, March 6, on the beach of a luxury hotel in the Keys, Florida.
These 356 Haitian migrants
– a near record figure – have since been detained by US customs.
Historical figure of the Haitian community in Miami, Marlène Bastien suspects the authorities of wanting to deport them to this country in the midst of chaos that they fled: “
It's criminal!
They are forcibly repatriated to a country where their life is threatened.
This is not good.
And this must stop.
»
The anger of this human rights activist is palpable, she who remembers the visit of Joe Biden, who came to campaign in 2020 in her neighborhood of
Little Haiti
.
The White House candidate promised a total break with Donald Trump's anti-immigration policy.
More than a year after his election, the break is still pending, according to Marlène Bastien: “
He does exactly the same thing.
He uses all sorts of tactics to deport Haitians and violate their right to come here and plead their case in court.
»
And since the
assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse
on July 7, 2021, illegal arrivals are accelerating on the coasts of Florida.
In one week, three boats loaded with a hundred Haitians were intercepted by American authorities off the Bahamas.
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United States
Haiti
Immigration
Human rights