By Carlotta Mohamed
Former Maryland Governor, Martin O’Malley, called for the United States government to speak up against the deportations of Haitian migrants and Dominico-Haitians from the Dominican Republic.
In national radio interviews with Haitian radio personalities Ricot Dupuy and Elizabeth Guerin over the past week, the U.S. presidential candidate emphasized the urgency of the crisis saying it is an “inhumane displacement of families and communities alike.”
“These forced deportations create a refugee crisis in a world that has far too many refugees on them,” said Governor O’Malley during an interview at Radio Soleil. “Let’s hope that the pressure and the international attention here will get the government of the Dominican Republic to kind of wake-up, and realize that there are certain norms of behavior that need to be respected.”
On Radio Mega, O’Malley said he doesn’t know why the U.S. government hasn’t acted and hopes the country will come around on the issue.
We have tended to pivot east and west, and our strength as a nation depends on our relationships in the America’s and Caribbean. This can be a great strength, especially in this world of limited resources and mass migrations, said O’Malley.
His overall bold platform on immigration policies, O’Malley has made it clear that he would go beyond President Obama’s executive actions in securing relief to undocumented immigrants, according to Time Magazine.
The two-term Maryland governor has called for expanding healthcare coverage to undocumented parents who are already protected from deportation, limiting detention of illegal immigrants, and creating an independent agency to advise eligibility for immigration to the United States, Time Magazine reported.
Governor O’Malley has spoken about the issue on the campaign trail and in interviews to raise awareness about the crisis going on in the Dominican Republic.
“We must work with our allies in the region and the United Nations and use the full force of our diplomatic might to stop this terrible injustice and prevent a humanitarian crisis,” said O’Malley.
O’Malley has come under fire in the past few days over saying “White lives matter, all lives matter” while discussing the issue of police brutality against Blacks. The presidential candidate apologized for his comment and insisted he meant “no disrespect.”
“That was a mistake on my part and I meant no disrespect. I did not mean to be insensitive in any way or communicate that I did not understand the tremendous passion, commitment and feeling and depth of feeling that all of us should be attaching to this issue.”