Vice President of the United States 1600 Pennsylvania ...

September 28, 2021

Honorable Joseph R. Biden, Jr.

President of the United States

White House

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue

Washington, DC 20500

Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas

U.S. Department of Homeland Security

3801 Nebraska Avenue NW

Washington D.C. 20016

Honorable Kamala D. Harris

Vice President of the United States

White House

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue

Washington, DC 20500

Honorable Antony Blinken

Secretary of State

U.S. Department of State

2201 C Street, N.W

Washington, D.C. 20520

Dear President Biden, Vice President Harris, Secretary Mayorkas, and Secretary Blinken:

As 177 faith-based organizations and 1,947 faith leaders and people of faith representing diverse

faith communities, we write to you today to express our shock and dismay at the Biden

administration¡¯s decision to resume deportation and expulsion flights to Haiti without regard for the

human consequences posed to the men, women, and children being deported, or concern for the

multiple compounding political and environmental crises impacting the Haitian people. Moreover, we

are deeply disturbed by the horrific and inhumane treatment of Haitians seeking refuge at the

U.S.-Mexico border at the hands of Border Patrol officers. We call on you to:

1. Immediately halt deportation flights through a humanitarian moratorium and release

Haitians in immigration detention;

2. End Title 42 expulsions and safely resume asylum;

3. Ensure that the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers responsible for abuses

against Haitian migrants are held accountable; and,

4. Vigorously pursue all administrative actions to protect Haitians from deportation,

such as a TPS redesignation or DED, and explore opportunities to utilize humanitarian

parole for Haitian arrivals.

These are necessary ways that the U.S. can extend a welcome to Haitian migrants fitting of our

values. Solely relying on outdated and inhumane enforcement practices is short-sighted and

immoral. We also continue to urge that the administration consider measures to address the factors

driving forced displacement of Haitians.

The back-to-back disasters of the 7.2 magnitude earthquake that occurred on August 14th, tropical

storm Grace, and subsequent widespread landslides have devastated a country already reeling from

the political and economic turmoil resulting from the assassination of President Jovenel Mo?se only a

month before. With a total of 800 thousand people affected, over 2,200 people killed, 12,200 injured,

and 130,000 homes destroyed, it is cruel and immoral for the Biden administration to send a

message of deterrence by deporting people seeking safety back to those conditions. According to

the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, over 45 percent of the

population in Haiti already faces acute food insecurity. The Haitian government and the families of

those being deported are not prepared to meet their basic needs or ensure their safety.

The Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) and Temporary Protected Status (TPS) programs were

enacted exactly for situations such as this. Employment authorization for current beneficiaries under

the 2011 TPS designation for Haiti was automatically extended until at least December 2022.

Additionally, Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas recently announced that due to the

grave conditions in the country, TPS for Haiti would be designated for 18 months effective August 3,

2021. Both decisions represent a recognition by the U.S. government that the conditions are too dire

for anyone to be forcibly returned, and yet this decision cruelly excludes those arriving at the

U.S.-Mexico border following the 7.2 earthquake.

Given these realities, we call upon the Biden Administration to:

A) Once again update the continuous presence date to be eligible for TPS in the U.S. to August

14 or later; and,

B) Issue a DED designation for Haitians in the U.S. because current processing times for TPS

applications and Employment Authorization Documents (EAD) application processing are as

long as a year. A DED designation would provide immediate protection from deportation.

It does not go unnoticed that Black immigrants are often targets of the largest mass expulsions from

the U.S. Mass migration from Haiti does not occur simply in response to natural disasters - it is

closely tied to harmful, racist U.S. and Western foreign policies toward Haiti going back to 1804

when the country was founded by formerly enslaved people who fought for and won their freedom.

We must address not only our treatment of Haitian migrants, but also our treatment of Haiti and the

Haitian people, and begin to listen to their own solutions for their country¡¯s needs, such as the

proposals put forward by the civil society-based Commission for a Haitian Solution to the Crisis. The

period of 2015-2024 has been named the UN International Decade for People of African Descent,

which among other things, is a time to renew the cause to name the colonial and white supremacist

roots of destabilized communities. With this, the faith organizations and faith leaders here reaffirm

their solidarity and support for all people of African-descent.

Haitian asylum-seekers are not only pursuing what is their legal right. They are also challenging us

all to live in full alignment with our religious and spiritual values, which implore us to welcome the

stranger and not to turn our back on those in need. Late last month President Biden stated that,

¡°human rights must be at the center of our foreign policy, not the periphery.¡± Yet the expulsion of

Haitian immigrants from the U.S. southern border illustrates just the opposite. We must back up bold

statements with actions.

We strongly stand by the words of Haitian Bridge Alliance Executive Director, Guerline Josef, who

said,

"We are in utter disbelief that the Biden Administration would deport Haitians now. Hours

after the 7.2 magnitude earthquake, President Joe Biden released a statement saying that

the United States was a 'friend' of Haiti. A 'friend' does not continuously inflict pain on

another friend.¡±

The deportation flights must end.

The use of Title 42 to justify those expulsions must end.

The U.S. must renew TPS designation for Haiti to more expansively ensure the safety of those who

need it.

We honor the determination, dignity, and resilience of Haitians in the camps under the Del Rio bridge

who have journeyed to the U.S. border believing in the promise of safety and opportunity. As people

of faith we hear the cry of the forsaken and vulnerable. We answer back, and urge you to join us.

Respectfully,

Faith Organizations:

Accompaniment & Sanctuary Coalition Colorado Springs

ADL (Anti-Defamation League)

African American Ministers In Action

All Saints Episcopal Church, Pasadena

All Souls Unitarian Universalist Church of Shreveport, Louisiana

Alliance of Baptists

AllianceQ - Disciples LGBTQ+ Alliance

American Friends Service Committee

Augustana Lutheran Church of Hyde Park

Austin Region Justice for Our Neighbors

Austin Zen Center

Beacon Presbyterian Fellowship

Beacon Unitarian Universalist Congregation

Belmont Neighbors Against Racism

Beraca Baptist Church

Beyond the Walls

Border Church/ Iglesia Fronteriza

Border Crit Institute

Bridges Faith Initiative

BWC - Peace with Justice Committee

Catholic Charities Diocese of San Diego

Celebration Lutheran Church

Center for Justice & Reconciliation at Point Loma Nazarene University

Central Washington Justice For Our Neighbors

Chicago Benedictines for Peace

Chicago Religious Leadership Network on Latin America

Chobo-Ji Zen Temple

Christian Reformed Church Office of Social Justice

Church of the Ascension

Church of the Brethren, Office of Peacebuilding and Policy

Church World Service

Clarendon Road Church

Coalition for Spiritual and Public Leadership (CSPL)

Community Church of Durham (UCC)

Community of Christ

Comunidad Maya Pixan Ixim

Congregation Action Network

Cooperative Baptist Fellowship

Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul USA

Disciples Immigration Legal Counsel

Disciples Refugee & Immigration Ministries

Earth Justice Ministries

Echoes Bellingham

Edgehill United Methodist Church

Eglise Pentecotiste de Pecheurs d¡¯Hommes

Faith Action Network

Faith in Action

Faith in Action International

Faith in Indiana

Faith in New Jersey

Faith in New York

Faith in Public Life

Faithful America

Faiths for Safe Water

Fellowship Southwest

First Baptist

First Baptist Church/MPAC

First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Tucson, AZ

First Lutheran Church, Bothell, WA

First Parish in Brookline

Franciscan Action Network

Friends Committee on National Legislation

Friends of Latin America

Frontera de Cristo

Global Ministries (DOC and UCC)

Granite State Interfaith Action Fund

Grassroots Leadership

Great Plains Rapid Response Immigration Team

Harvard Unitarian Universalist Ministry for Students

Holy Spirit Missionary Sisters, USA-JPIC

Houston Coalition Against Hate

Hyde Park Refugee Project

Interfaith Alliance of Colorado

Interfaith Coalition on Immigration, MN

Interfaith Community for Detained Immigrants

JAMAAT - Jews and Muslims and Allies Acting Together

Jesuit Refugee Service/USA

Jewish Coalition for Immigrant Justice NW

Just Haiti, Inc.

Just Neighbors

Justice For Our Neighbors - North Central Texas

Justice Revival

Knox Presbyterian Church

Latino Ministries Association, Evenglecial Lutheran Church of America

Leadership Conference of Women Religious

Logos International Fellowship, Inc.

Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service

Maranatha Indonesian UCC

Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns

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