Human rights group decries deportation to ‘chaos’ in Haiti

Human Rights Watch released a report Thursday demanding the U.S. and other countries stop deporting Haitians to their homeland, calling it “unconscionable” and warning that they are putting people’s lives in danger.

More than 25,700 people have been deported to Haiti from January 2021 to February 2022, with 79% of them alone expelled by the U.S., according to the International Organization for Migration.

“Haitians and their children, many born abroad, are being returned to a country in chaos,” said César Muñoz, senior Americas researcher with Human Rights Watch, a nonprofit organization based in New York.

Haiti’s turmoil deepened significantly in the past year with inflation, kidnappings and violence spiking as the country tries to recover from the July 7 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse and a 7.2 magnitude earthquake that struck in mid-August, killing more than 2,200 people and destroying or damaging tens of thousands of homes. Jobs also have become even scarcer in a country of more than 11 million people where 60% of the population makes less than $2 a day.

In addition, gangs have grown more powerful amid ongoing political instability, with reported kidnappings soaring by 180% and homicides by 17% in the past year, according to a report by the United Nations Security Council. An estimated 19,000 people have lost their homes due to gang violence, and many are still living in temporary shelters in extremely unhygienic conditions.