MIAMI – A detainee who has tested positive for coronavirus, Stephane Etienne, is among 100 individuals expected to be deported to Haiti on Monday, May 11th, 2020.
Mr. Etienne told The Miami Herald he knows of four other detainees who are also infected. The Monday flight to Haiti is the third in a short period of time.
Deporting exposed detainees during this time of crisis is incomprehensible. By sending these immigrants to vulnerable nations, The Department of Homeland Security knowingly puts the detainees, the officers, Haiti, and neighboring Dominican Republic at risk. Haiti does not have the capacity to respond to a pandemic of this magnitude. It lacks ventilators, essential medical equipment for workers, and sufficient intensive care units for critically ill patients. The potential outbreak that could emerge would be disastrous for the country.
Last month, Family Action Network Movement (FANM) sent an open letter to President Jovenel Moise urging him to stop accepting deportations. It remains unanswered.
Marleine Bastien, Executive Director of Family Action Network Movement (FANM) stated, “If the US government is serious about containing the spread of the coronavirus, it will immediately order a halt on all deportations. The US government should stop exporting the coronavirus to vulnerable nations like Haiti. Knowingly deporting sick detainees at this time is inexplicable and barbaric.”
Family Action Network Movement (FANM) urges The Trump Administration to put a moratorium on deportations to Haiti and all other nations in order to stop the spread of the coronavirus in this time of grave crisis. This virus is deadly and the federal government must respond in kind.