US authorities have deported another 82 Haitians to their home country, marking the fourth such flight since the termination of Temporary Protected Status for Haitians.
Officials from Haiti’s National Office for Migration said Thursday’s arrival at Cap-Haïtien International Airport brought the number of Haitians returned on the recent flights to 401.
According to the ONM, the flight was initially scheduled to transport 71 people, but more than 10 additional deportees were on board when the aircraft arrived in Cap-Haïtien.
The latest removals have drawn renewed criticism from human rights groups, amid concerns over the security and humanitarian conditions facing people sent back to Haiti.
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk used an address to the United Nations General Assembly to call on the US to suspend forced returns to countries where deportees could face serious harm.
“I urge the United States to halt the return of people to places where they could suffer irreparable harm, including Haiti, and to ensure due process for all removals to third countries,” Türk told the assembly.
Fourth Deportation Flight
The latest flight comes after US authorities told Haiti’s migration office in July that they intended to operate two deportation flights each week, with the combined capacity to transport as many as 250 people.
The announcement followed a US Supreme Court decision that cleared the way for the Trump administration to end the 15-year-old TPS programme for an estimated 350,000 Haitians.
Since the programme was terminated, hundreds of Haitians have been returned after being detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, while many others remain in the US awaiting deportation.
Some of those affected have lived outside Haiti for more than a decade. Others were born in countries other than Haiti or the US and had never previously travelled to Haiti.
The deportations have also affected children of Haitian deportees, including minors who have never lived in the country.
Haiti is not the only country returning Haitians. The Bahamas, the Dominican Republic and other countries have also carried out deportations, contributing to a sharp increase in the number of people sent back to Haiti.
Figures from the United Nations and the Support Group for Repatriates and Refugees indicate that more than 200,000 people have been deported to Haiti from different countries between January and September.
Stenley Orbruth Doriscar, communications officer for GARR, said the continued arrivals were placing additional pressure on a country already facing a severe humanitarian crisis.
“It is a considerable number given the humanitarian situation we are facing in Haiti,” Doriscar told The Haitian Times.
“Given this situation, we can no longer continue receiving people into the country.”
