Reportage
Haitians rush to get passports to travel to the United States
Audio 01:18
Haitians line up outside an immigration office while waiting their turn to apply for a passport, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, January 10, 2023. AP - Odelyn Joseph
Text by: RFI Follow
2 mins
Since the announcement on Sunday, January 8, 2023, by US President Joe Biden of new measures authorizing each month 30,000 Haitian, Venezuelan, Cuban and Nicaraguan migrants to enter the United States, provided that they have a resident sponsor capable of receive them, Haitians flock to the offices of the country's migration services to apply for a passport.
In Gonaïves, the immigration office is overwhelmed.
Reporting by Ronel Paul.
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It is noon.
The queue is endless in front of the immigration office located in the building of the Directorate General of Taxes.
Some arrived as early as 5 am and fatigue is felt.
People are sitting on the floor on either side of the hallway.
No one wants to answer questions except Angelot Louis.
It is an agent who carries out the procedures for several clients who hope to obtain the documents necessary to obtain a passport more quickly.
He has a lot of tax stamps in his hands and is followed very closely by two customers.
Since the announcement of the new American immigration measures, he has been overwhelmed: “
We see that people have landed in droves to ask for their passports.
But the processing of applications is not normal here at immigration.
People are suffering a lot
”.
Obtaining identification, including a passport, has never been easy in Haiti.
The large influx further complicates the work of Angelot Louis who plays the intermediary between his clients and the migration service: “
To obtain a tax number, the difficulty is enormous.
For the tax stamp, there too, the difficulty is enormous.
Paying at the checkout is extremely difficult.
Finally, once all the documents are compiled, you have to reach the immigration office and it is, as you can see, a Chinese puzzle
”.
The amount of people massed in the lobby of the building makes the air unbreathable.
People are sweating, but no one dares to go outside to get some fresh air for fear of losing their place.
Leaving Haiti at all costs is the dream of many Haitians.
► To read also:
"The rule of law is regressing in Haiti"
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Haiti
Immigration
International Migrations