“By deporting people during these times, you are sending people into danger,” Providence Councilwoman Nirva LaFortune says
By Edward Fitzpatrick Globe Staff.
Haitian-American leaders in Rhode Island are calling for the federal government to stop deporting undocumented people to Haiti amid a surge in kidnappings, gang violence, and political turmoil there.
“Haiti is going through a human rights and political crisis,” said Bernard Georges, founder and executive director of New Bridges for Haitian Success, based in Providence. “There has been a huge increase in violence, killing, kidnapping, rape, and oppression.”
Yet the United States has deported or expelled more than 1,000 Haitian people — including hundreds of children — since Feb. 1, Georges said, citing news reports. And now, undocumented Haitians in Rhode Island are worried that a knock on the door will thrust them back into a world of chaos and danger, he said.
“They are living in fear. Some are just staying in the basement. They are hiding. Even those with sick children don’t want to go out,” Georges said. “We are calling on the Biden administration to stop deportations to Haiti immediately.” continue reading