In a vote for further aid for Haiti, a Caribbean nation that has been struck with a humanitarian crisis due to ongoing gang violence that led to citizens fleeing the country for a chance of survival, congress member Yvette Clarke made her stance known and continue to press for the preservation of Haiti. The congresswoman recently made her address through a speech at the House of Representatives to “stand on the right side of history.”
Mr. Speaker, I rise on this day to help shed light on the escalating crisis in Haiti.
There is no doubt that the Haitian people are experiencing some of the most horrific times in our modern, civil society. There is no viable government. There is no protection for the people. This is a humanitarian crisis that has reached unprecedented levels with widespread hunger and undeterred gang violence, filling the void and terrorizing the country. According to the U.N., 4 million people in Haiti face “acute food insecurity” and one million are one step away from famine.
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Imagine, the population of Los Angeles, subject to severe food insecurity and violence that has led to a spike in starvation, with goods unable to move freely while people are forced to remain in their homes out of fear for their lives. Haiti is a mere 90 miles from our shores. And yet, in many ways, Haiti has been forgotten. But it is urgent that we pay attention.
American mythology paints the United States as a Nation of Immigrants, but our nation has historically eulogized and welcomed mostly White immigrants. Like Donald Trump, who once asked “Why are we having all these people from s-hole countries come here?” Like some of the richest people in the world, who despite being immigrants themselves, continue to push insane conspiracies, completely devoid of compassion and logic and reason. They repeatedly use the rhetoric of the white supremacist “great replacement” conspiracy theory.
Praying for the erasure of Black immigrants from our history, and hoping for a whitewashed version to endure. Their cruelty has only enabled the treatment of Black immigrants as illegitimate – As temporary workers rather than permanent immigrants,
As illegal immigrants rather than asylum seekers, As political tools rather than people in need. They describe Haitians as “invaders”.
Desperate families clinging to life and their fleeting futures are not invaders. Such rhetoric reflects the vicious quest for a racial hierarchy in immigration policy that deters and black, Black non-citizens from entering the US. So, I say again – it is urgent that we pay attention. Because the Black diaspora has always been a defining component to American Blackness. From Malcom X, who’s mother was Grenadian to Vice President Kamala Harris, who is from Afro-Indo-Caribbean Heritage. And as we continue to watch hell unfold on a small nation a mere 90 miles off of our coasts, We can never again forget That Black History IS American History. In closing, I implore my colleagues and the Administration to come together for our Haitian brothers and sisters.
My co-chairs from the Haiti Caucus and I will continue to push this Administration to extend TPS for Haiti and a pause in deportations. The whole country is unstable and dangerous. There is no excuse to send anyone anywhere in Haiti. Let me repeat:
There is no excuse to send anyone anywhere in Haiti. We cannot give credence to those who would have us give in to fear – forsaking our American values for reasons beyond logic and comprehension.
We cannot forsake our American values for reasons beyond comprehension or give credence to those who would have us give in to fear. Our nation rises to its greatest heights when we are guided by our hearts and compassion and moral obligations to our neighbors in need. We have an opportunity to stand on the right side of history – and we must take it.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker, I yield back.
