New Report Details the Challenges Haitian Migrants Face Seeking Protection in Mexico, Which is Not Ready to Receive Increased Arrivals Following Removal of Temporary Protected Status
In June the U.S. Supreme Court cleared the way for the Trump administration to revoke Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for some 350,000 Haitians residing in the United States. Despite crisis levels of violence and instability in the country, mass deportations to Haiti have already commenced. Given the extremely dangerous conditions in Haiti, many Haitians may choose to flee to Mexico, which has agreed to accept some non-Mexicans from the United States. But whether Mexico is ready to receive an increase in Haitian arrivals remains in doubt.
Based on dozens of interviews, a new report, Immigrants as a Bargaining Chip, finds that significant barriers prevent all people seeking asylum—especially Haitians—from obtaining protection in Mexico. This is due to several factors, including woeful underresourcing as a result of the U.S. government’s gutting of foreign aid, shifts in Mexico’s migration policies, decreasing transparency, and persistent anti-Black discrimination.
“The United States’ treatment of Haitian migrants leaves a moral stain on this country,” said Blaine Bookey, Legal Director at the Center for Gender & Refugee Studies (CGRS). “While such disregard for the lives of Haitians in search of refuge is nothing new, the second Trump administration’s actions stripping status and engaging in mass deportations, coupled with the revocation of foreign aid, is reaching new levels of cruelty. As our report reveals, the human cost of these policies is significant, but there are immediate steps Mexico can take to prepare for reception of Haitians and uphold its human rights commitments.”
“Our partners in Mexico describe Tapachula as a ‘pressure cooker,’ where migrants are stuck between borders in an overwhelmed system that leaves them vulnerable to cartel violence and recruitment, exploitation, and discrimination,” said Kim Lamberty, Executive Director of Quixote Center. “As people flee armed-gang violence in Haiti, and the United States forces Haitian TPS holders to leave, options for finding safety are disappearing. No one should be forced to flee one dangerous situation only to be pushed into another by governments that prioritize political and economic interests over human lives.”
“The Trump administration has managed to outshine the United States’ uniformly deplorable history of mistreating Haitian migrants,” said Peter Habib of the UC Law San Francisco Haiti Justice Partnership. “The current situation is literally a matter of life and death for hundreds of thousands of families, yet the administration chooses to strip status and callously deport people to harm. We call on the United States to immediately reverse course, and on Mexico to take the necessary steps to make up for the United States’ shameful failures and protect lives.”
"In the aftermath of the Trump administration's termination of Temporary Protected Status, Haitian community members in the United States are vulnerable to draconian surveillance, prolonged detention in horrific conditions, and deportation to danger in Haiti or in third countries,” said Savi Arvey, Director of Policy, Refugee and Immigrant Rights at Human Rights First. “Due to this policy, Haitians who are sent to Mexico face high risks of violence, uncertainty, and lack of support - compounded by anti-Black racism. The United States government must uphold the right to seek safety for Haitian community members, and provide the protection they need, while the Mexican government must cease transporting Haitians to the south of Mexico, where they face elevated risk. The Mexican government must also ensure that Haitians are able to access the asylum system in Mexico."
“No country should be deporting Haitians to Haiti—or to any third country—much less stripping Haitians of Temporary Protected Status when the U.S. Department of State itself has documented that Haiti faces widespread gang violence, killings, brutal attacks, sexual violence, and massive displacement,” said Gretchen Kuhner, Director of the Institute for Women in Migration (IMUMI). “It is hypocritical and cruel to recognize that Haiti is unsafe while simultaneously removing the protections that allow Haitians to remain safely in the United States. Mexico could be a receiving country for Haitians who freely choose to come here, but for that to be a humane option, Mexico must strengthen its asylum system and ensure that asylum seekers can access employment, health care, education, and other public services. These challenges are compounded by racism and language barriers, particularly in Chiapas, a state with high rates of poverty and insecurity.”
“The Trump administration’s policy of mass delegalization and use of humanitarian aid money to pay for deportations has had horrible human costs in the United States and globally,” said Yael Schacher, Director for the Americas at Refugees International. “The Trump administration must stop tearing Haitians from their communities in the United States and the Mexican government must improve access to asylum, employment, and services in Mexico for Haitians.”
“Mexico has long been recognized worldwide for its deep solidarity with vulnerable individuals in need of international protection,” said Victor Louidor, a Mexican Haitian attorney. “Nations across the region and other continents have historically benefitted from Mexico’s asylum system, cementing the State’s humanitarian tradition as a cornerstone of its foreign policy and its commitment to human rights. This document presents the results of months of scientific, documentary, and field research regarding the national asylum and refugee system. Its primary aim is to raise awareness among the relevant institutional, legal, and social stakeholders to fully capitalize on this new historic opportunity in the interest of social justice and international law.”
Immigrants as a Bargaining Chip calls on the United States to protect the lives and human rights of Haitians by reinstating TPS for Haiti, immediately ceasing deportations to Haiti and involuntary returns of Haitians to Mexico, and restoring access to asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border. It also recommends that Mexico take several steps to increase fairness and transparency in adjudication of Haitian claims, including consistent application of the Cartagena framework, hiring of Kreyol interpreters, and reducing wait times for asylum processing in Mexico, which leave individuals with insecure status vulnerable to harm.