In a recent interview, Clarke characterizes the state of affairs in Haiti as “very chaotic.” She continued by saying that because of the turmoil in their nation, some Haitians are “not receiving humanitarian aid” and are in danger of famine.
Rep. Yvette Clarke, D-N.Y., is pleading with the Biden-Harris administration to support Haitians and provide them with further protections when they escape the Caribbean country and enter the United States.
- Advertisement -
In a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, and President Joe Biden, Clarke requests that the administration authorize Haitians Temporary Protected Status (TPS), stop all deportations from the United States to Haiti, and grant humanitarian parole to any Haitians who are ICE detained.
According to Clarke, granting Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to Haitians escaping gang violence and poverty in the Caribbean nation would provide them with much-needed “stability.”
The lawmaker claimed that it also gives them a way to make money to take home to their loved ones and relatives.
Along with U.S. Reps. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, D-Fla., Joyce Beatty, D-Ohio, Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., Sydney Kamlager-Dove, D-Calif., and Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., many members of Congress signed the letter.
“Haiti deserves our attention and alliance,” Kamlager-Dove, a member of the House Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, said in an interview with a media house. The United States “needs to step up.”
According to the California legislature, Haiti has seen “constant turmoil” as a result of political unrest, poverty, and instability. She continued, “They have never been allowed to have the kind of economic support that other countries have been allowed to have.”
The US Congress must exert pressure on Biden, according to Omar-Harris Management “to make sure policies are being implemented to help and support Haiti.”
Armed gangs have been terrorizing the country of Haiti since late February, increasing fatalities, kidnappings, and acts of violence. Gang members have assaulted Haiti’s major port, police stations, airports, and prisons in recent months, disrupting many Haitians’ lives and stopping the flow of goods.
Gang members allege that their anger over the delayed elections has led them to commit targeted attacks around the country.
In the correspondence, participants conveyed that detractors held Prime Minister Ariel Henry largely responsible for the unrest due to his “unconstitutional clinging to power” and his inability to call elections after President Jovenel Moïse’s murder in 2021.
The prime minister declared he would quit once a transitional administration was in place in response to repeated calls for Henry’s resignation.
The United States expressed its approval of the formation of Haiti’s Transitional Presidential Council on April 19, 2024, with the expectation that it would reduce bloodshed and bring stability back to the nation.
According to Clarke’s interview, she intends to deliver the letter to the Biden-Harris administration the following week and is still holding out hope that Biden would reply favorably.
According to Clarke, President Biden “understands how imperative it is” to help Haitians because of his work as a ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and his experience working in the Western Hemisphere as vice president.
