FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Washington, D.C., September 22, 2021—A presidential assassination, continuing food insecurity, and a devastating earthquake have forced thousands of Haitians to leave their communities in search of safety. But when they arrive at the U.S.-Mexico border they face violence, threats, indignity, and deportation to the same dangers that forced them to flee. This cannot continue. Asylum-seekers have the right under U.S. and international law to seek protection at our border—and they should be welcomed with dignity. Young Center Executive Director Gladis Molina Alt released the following statement, calling on the Biden-Harris administration to halt all deportations to Haiti and to ensure that all children, adults, and families seeking safety in the United States are welcomed by the humanitarian spirit of our asylum law while they pursue their legal cases for protection:

Refugees at our borders have risked everything to find safety and to rebuild their lives. They have a legal right to seek protection from persecution and the United States government has a moral and legal obligation to ensure they can do so in a fair and humane manner. The abhorrent conditions both Haitians and Central Americans have been forced to tolerate along the border are the antithesis of a fair and welcoming process.

The Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights calls on the Office of the Inspector General of the Department of Homeland Security to immediately investigate the violent mistreatment of Haitians, Central Americans, and others by Border Patrol. Just as critically, the Biden administration must also end the expulsion of asylum-seekers under false premise of Title 42 and abandon its appeal of last week’s federal court order calling for an end to this Trump policy. These are just two of the many steps needed for the administration to live up to its promises to immigrant, Black, and Brown communities.

##

The Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights is a non-profit organization that protects and advances the rights and best interests of immigrant children and advocates for an immigration system that treats children as children first. For press inquiries, please contact Noorjahan Akbar at media@theyoungcenter.org or 202-725-7184.