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A recent report from Widlore Merancourt and Anthony Faiola of The Washington Post outlines the impact of the Biden administration's effort to deport Haitian migrants following a string of natural disasters. This week, Johnson Bordes was able to tell his story. At 12 years old, Bordes was forced out of his home country due to a horrific earthquake that killed thousands of people. In the aftermath, Bordes and his family moved to the Dominican Republic and then Chile. Recently, Bordes and his loved ones were encouraged to travel thousands of miles to connect with members of their family in the U.S. Tragically, Bordes and his family were stopped by members of law enforcement and sent back to the country they had left a decade ago.
“How could they bring us back here?” Bordes asked.
“This is an injustice. I don’t even know where we are going to sleep tonight.”
Bordes is not alone in his feeling of uncertainty. According to The Washington Post, several families said they were flown back to Haiti without any prior knowledge of where they were going.
“If Biden continues with these deportations, he’s no better than Trump,” Bordes added.
“I’m afraid for my safety here. I don’t even know this country anymore.”
Haiti is currently going through a tremendously difficult period. Within the last month, Haitian President Jovenel Moïse was assassinated, an earthquake struck the country and Tropical Storm Grace followed soon thereafter. As a result, thousands of people have left Haiti and headed towards other countries across Central America as well as Mexico. More recently, thousands of Haitian migrants gathered under a bridge in Del Rio, Texas in hopes of finding shelter in America.
In response to a recent increase in the number of Haitian migrants seeking residency in America, the Biden Administration has resumed deportation efforts. Just last week. Rep. Ayanna Pressley called out U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for sending Haitian migrants back home while the nation recovers from a natural disaster.
“That ICE would continue to carry out the mass deportations of our Haitian neighbors—with Haiti in the midst of its worst political, public health and economic crises yet—is cruel and callous," Rep. Ayanna Pressley said, according to a report from The Hill.
Thus far, President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have remained relatively quiet about the matter.
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