PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti: The United States Thursday deported over 50 Haitian migrants, Haitian and US officials said.
The country has been affected by spiraling gang violence in recent weeks.
A Haitian immigration official told media that in total, 52 Haitians landed at the airport in the city of Cap-Haitien on Thursday.
A spokesperson for the US Department of Homeland Security had announced the repatriation flight.
“US policy is to return noncitizens who do not establish a legal basis to remain in the United States,” the spokesperson added.
Since the end of February, criminals have ganged up to launch a coordinated offensive across the Caribbean country, attacking prisons, police stations and the airport, leading to the resignation of prime minister Ariel Henry.
In March, nearly 500 human rights organizations, keeping in view the worsening crisis in the country, published a letter addressed to US officials including President Biden, seeking a moratorium on deportations to Haiti.
The letter said that armed groups terrorize the population with systematic rape, indiscriminate kidnapping, and mass killing, all with impunity as the state is not functioning.
The United States, the European Union and other countries began arranging for their nationals to leave Haiti last month, and the United Nations has also evacuated its staff due to instability.
On Tuesday, after weeks of delay, nine members of Haiti’s Transitional Ruling Council were officially appointed. This was a further step towards establishing a degree of order and paving the way for new presidential elections after the assassination of president Jovenel Moise in 2021.
Haiti has no current parliament and has not held elections since 2016.
A Kenyan-led UN-backed force was sent to Kenya last year to help police involved in cracking down on criminal gangs, but the group has not yet been deployed.
The UN’s migration agency, the International Organization for Migration (IOM), said this month that the situation was driving migration.
According to the IOM, about 13,000 Haitian migrants were forcibly returned by neighboring countries in March.
