Tal Kopan Newly released internal documents are raising questions about the Trump administration's decision to end protections for tens of thousands of Haitian immigrants -- and whether the argument that the protections were no longer merited was valid. Under President Donald Trump, the Department of Homeland Security has been aggressive in ending a number of temporary protected status designations that have been on the books, in some cases, for decades. Roughly 300,000 people who have lived in the US with legal permission, most of whom have been here for upward of 15-20 years, could have their status pulled in the coming months as the protections expire. In the case of Haiti, nearly 60,000 immigrants are set to see their status expire next year. The justification from the administration for ending the protections has been that by law, when the conditions from the original disaster that triggered the protections have improved, they must expire. DHS has been clear that it does not believe it can look at the totality of conditions in the country to factor in its decision making. But the documents released Tuesday as part of a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit raise questions about whether DHS was accurately interpreting information in drawing those conclusions.
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Jacqueline Charles and Jim Wyss Migrating to Chile is about to get tougher for Haitians.
Starting April 16, Haitians seeking to get into Chile will now need to request a visa from the Chilean consulate in Port-au-Prince, the South American country’s government announced Monday. The tightened immigration rule is part of a series of immigration measures introduced by new President Sebastian Piñera, who also introduced new visa requirements for Venezuelansseeking to migrate. Under the so-called Democratic Responsibility Visa, Venezuelans seeking to flee their country’s worsening political crisis will be able to apply for temporary residence in Chile for a year. But instead of making the request in Chile, Venezuelans will have to do so at home. As to whether it will make it easier or harder for them to emigrate, it all depends on how restrictive the Chilean consulate is. Wes Anderson Some people’s passions take them to faraway lands; others see opportunity in nearby, familiar places.
The passions of 2015 Anderson University grad Watson George have taken him to both. Watson started the non-profit Beyond Me Initiative with his wife, Madisyn. Together, the two impact the lives of countless people in Haiti, all while remaining in Madison County. Watson and Madisyn connected naturally. Both had been adopted from Haiti by American families. After Haiti was struck by a devastating earthquake in 2010, Watson led a team of students there to provide assistance. He also sought to reconnect with his biological family. The trip changed his life and provided the inspiration for Beyond Me. Headquartered in Pendleton, the organization has rebuilt Haitian schools and homes and provided clean water. Beyond Me seeks to end poverty in Haiti by creating jobs and economic opportunity. Watson and Madisyn have benefited from Anderson Now, an AU initiative that helps recent graduates manage student debt and start businesses. teleSUR Michael Brun has DJ-ed at top music festivals and his remixes have generated millions of streams. But he believes his swiftly rising careers was all preparation for his latest project. Michael Brun has shifted gears from the electronic dance music scene to the sounds of his native Haiti with his new track, “Bayo.”
The song is driven by an infectious horn melody derived from Haiti’s rara carnival music, set to an enthusiastic beat with traces of Afrobeat as well as Brun’s electronic origins. “Bayo,” which means “to give” in Haitian Creole, is accompanied by a celebratory video full of dancing children showing their best moves and three vocalists, including rapper Strong G whom Brun discovered on a recording trip to Gonave Island. Tony McKenna As if to open up the New Year in a blaze of controversy, the man who now sits in the US presidential office is said to have made some of his most flammable comments yet. No stranger to controversy, the Commander-in-Chief allegedly described Haiti and certain African countries as "shithole countries" in a meeting held to address immigration reform.
Spontaneously, and almost as one, the world's media erupted in a firestorm of outrage and rebuke, not, of course, without good reason. The United Nations condemned US President Donald Trump's alleged comments in the strongest terms, while Patrick Gaspard, the US ambassador to South Africa under Barack Obama, reflected mournfully, "In the legion of absolutely outrageous things that this man has said and done, what occurred this past week has just tipped us over into a place of near insanity." One can empathise with Gaspard's shock, in particular, as it is hard to imagine his former paymaster, Obama - a poised and polished speechmaker and an ardent and vocal advocate of global equality and integration - ever giving life to such vulgar and atavistic utterances. And yet … While it is safe to assume Obama would never have described other countries as "shitholes", the briefest perusal of his international record suggests he didn't have much of a problem in treating them like it... Mark Moore The Trump administration will ban immigrants from Haiti — which the president included in his “s–thole countries” remark — from applying for temporary visas given to low-skilled workers, the Department of Homeland Security said.
The department said it would remove Haiti, Belize and Samoa from a list of more than 80 countries whose residents are eligible for H-2A and H-2B visas, which usually are granted for seasonal workers in agriculture and other industries. The Haitian Times Haiti has formally written to the United States Government seeking an extension of the temporary protected status (TPS) for its nationals residing in the North American country.
The request, coming seven years after the French-speaking Caribbean Community (CARICOM) country was devastated by an earthquake, is contained in a letter sent to the Department of Homeland Security last Friday. Port au Prince said the island has not fully recovered from the 2010 earthquake that killed an estimated 230,000 people and left more than a million others homeless. In addition, Haiti has pointed to the extensive damage caused by the passage of two hurricanes in recent years. Haiti estimates that at least 60,000 of its nationals are living in the United States under the TPS and that a visit to the island “would offer you (an) insight on the challenges that we continue to face,” Haitian Ambassador to the United States Paul Altidor wrote to Acting DHS Secretary Elaine Duke. Kenneth Schwartz Hurricane Irma is lashing Haiti and the Dominican Republic with fierce winds and heavy rain, but thankfully appears to be sparing them a direct hit.
Forecasters say Irma's eye will pass between Hispanola — the island shared by the two nations — and the Turks and Caicos Islands late Thursday before its next target: Cuba and the Bahamas. The forecasters are still calling Irma an "extremely dangerous" Category 5 storm, with top sustained winds of 280 kilometers per hour. Irma is blasting through the Caribbean, leaving a path of destruction. Cate Carrejo Just on the heels of Hurricane Harvey, another powerful storm is threatening the Atlantic this week. A troublingly powerful hurricane formed off the coast of Africa several days ago, and its slow trek across the ocean has struck fear in Americans who watched the destruction in Texas. Scientists are just now making timely predictions of the storm's path, and it looks like Hurricane Irma will hit Haiti, as well as possibly the East Coast of the United States.
Although the storm may still change course or fizzle out, weather forecasts can now reasonably predict that Irma will make landfall in Haiti. According to the National Hurricane Center, Irma will arrive in Haiti at approximately 8:00 a.m. on Sept. 7, but it may be an indirect hit. According to this chart by the NHC, Haiti will be spared the worst of the hurricane — wind speeds will top out around 30 to 40 miles per hour, unlike the 100+ mile per hour winds that battered the Texas Gulf coast when Harvey hit last week. For now, however, only Antigua, Barbuda, Montserrat, St. Kitts, Sint Maarten, St. Martin, and Saint Barthelemy have hurricane warnings posted. Jacqueline Charles Social entrepreneurs, influencers and startup innovators kicked off a two-day technology summit in Haiti on Tuesday, hoping to help transform the poverty-stricken nation into a hub of innovation.
The brainchild of Christine Souffrant Ntim, a Dubai-based Haitian-American entrepreneur, the Haiti Tech Summit is expected to bring in about 100 speakers representing Google, Facebook, Uber and Airbnb, and covering topics including launching a startup, the importance of smart cities and branding... Silicon Valley venture capitalist Ben Horowitz gave the opening talk, citing advice from Haitian Revolutionary leader Toussaint L’Ouverture: To change a country, you have to start by changing the culture. “Culture is deep in our DNA,” Horowitz said. “Changing culture is how we change Haiti.” Ntim, who is the founder of a mobile network connecting global travelers to street vendors in developing countries, said the goal behind the summit is to “transform the narrative around Haiti’s brand as a nation.” During the next 13 years, Ntim said, she wants to “catapult Haiti forward through innovation, tech and entrepreneurship.” |
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