Washington DC – A plane carrying dozens of Haitian immigrants was deported by the U.S. Public health rules It landed in Port-au-Prince on July 6.

This is the 35th such deportation flight since U.S. President Joe Biden took office, returning approximately 2,000 Haitian asylum seekers, including their families, pregnant women and children, to the rampant gang violence they fled from And systemic poverty.

Less than 24 hours later, the armed gunmen stormed President Geoffnell Mois At his home in the capital of Haiti, killed him and hurt his wife, and sent Shock wave Throughout the Caribbean countries and all over the world.

Back in the United States, the deadly attack caused new concerns among advocates in the Haitian community who believed Long before Moise was killed It has asked the United States to stop the deportation of immigrants and asylum seekers to Haiti.

“We call on the Biden government to suspend all deportations and release Haitian asylum seekers and refugees detained because of this crisis,” Marleine Bastien, executive director of the Family Action Network, an advocacy and social service agency Say. An agency that assists Haitians in South Florida.

“We have been asking for a few months,” Bastian told Al Jazeera.

‘Simply unacceptable’

Immigration advocates say that since Haiti fell into further turmoil, no US deportation flights have landed in Haiti. Moys assassinated Last week, the Haitian Constitution did not specify who should take over, and at least three leaders held competing leadership claims.

But they are increasingly worried about the deportation of Haitian asylum seekers who have reached the US-Mexico border and their continued detention in the United States under the public health rule 42.

“It is totally unacceptable to keep them in a cage instead of being released to reunite with family and community members,” said Guerline Jozef of the Haitian non-profit organization of the American League of Haiti Bridge Alliance.

“We ask the Biden government to stop all deportations and deportations under Article 42 and release all asylum seekers — all [detained] Haitian nationals seeking asylum in the United States,” Joseph told Al Jazeera.

Most immigrants arriving at the US-Mexico border are deported under Article 42, which former President Donald Trump invoked last year to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Sonnell, an immigrant from Haiti, holding his 9-month-old twin daughters Melodie and Harmonie after being released from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection in Del Rio, Texas [File: Adrees Latif/Reuters]

So far, Biden has retained the measure on the grounds of the pandemic, but he has exempted Kids traveling alone Remove from now.But rights groups and progressives criticized the policy as a cover Prevent asylum from entering the country.

Central American immigrants-making up the majority of arrivals-were sent back to Mexico, while the US authorities sent Haitians directly back to Haiti, a country paralyzed by political instability, poverty, disease, gang violence, and long-term effects. The big earthquake that struck this small island country more than ten years ago. They were held in immigration detention facilities awaiting deportation.

A day after Moise was assassinated, a group of 134 pro-immigrant organizations Joint letter The Biden administration urged an immediate end to the detention and deportation of Haitian immigrants.

“Armed groups control many streets And has been kidnapping civilians, including schoolchildren and church priests during their service. Experts now warn that the political vacuum left by President Moise’s assassination may exacerbate the current cycle of violence in Haiti,” the letter reads.

“In view of the life-threatening life and the Biden administration’s own assessment of the dangerous situation in Haiti, no Haitian should be expedited or resumed deportation.”

A week after the assassination of President Giovinel Mois in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, a hawker works in a popular street market [Ricardo Arduengo/Reuters]

Immigration detention

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) did not respond to Al Jazeera’s request for comment in a timely manner.

The Department of Homeland Security, which administers the U.S. immigration system, did not break down the nationalities of immigration detainees—the Haitian community advocates did not estimate the number of Haitian nationals currently detained.

According to the TRAC immigration research group affiliated with Syracuse University, more than 27,000 immigrants As of July 8, people of all nationalities are being held in immigration and customs enforcement agencies awaiting deportation.

Earlier this year, the Biden administration admitted that Haitians would be in danger if they returned to their home country. On May 22, the United States was announcing a new, Temporary Protection Status (TPS) for 18 months For Haitians already in the United States, this saves them from being deported and allows them to work legally in the country.

Alejandro Mayorkas, Secretary of Homeland Security said: “Haiti is currently facing serious security problems, social unrest, increased human rights violations, severe poverty and lack of basic resources, and COVID- The 19 pandemic has exacerbated these problems.” Say then.

“After careful consideration, we decided that we must do our best to support Haitian nationals in the United States until the situation in Haiti improves so that they can return home safely.”

But the name has not yet been announced in the Federal Register, which needs to be officially announced and allowed Haitians to start applying. The TPS designation also does not protect those who arrive in the United States after May 21, which drew further criticism from immigration experts, who said that the latest incident in Haiti requires a more positive response.

“Given the assassination and the already The situation in Haiti is extremely dire It is extremely unsafe to deport people to Haiti even before the assassinations that require TPS designation occur,” said Steven Forester, immigration policy coordinator at the Haitian Institute of Justice and Democracy, based in the United States. Say.

“Our view is that no one should be deported to Haiti-during the period-regardless of whether they are technically compliant with the TPS requirements, once they issue a notice-even if they arrive after May 21,” Frye Steer told Al Jazeera.

Migrants from Central America, Haiti and Cuba line up outside the Mexican Refugee Assistance Committee (COMAR) to apply for asylum and refugee status in Tapachula, Mexico [Jose Torres/Reuters]

Thousands in Mexico

At the same time, the Bridge Alliance estimates that there are currently 5,000 to 10,000 Haitians living in Mexico border town plagued by violence Especially black immigrants are vulnerable to exploitation and attack.

Some people have waited as long as four years to seek asylum in the United States, because many people have been prevented from crossing the border under Trump’s leadership, and the Trump administration has severely restricted access to asylum since 2017.

Majorcas said on Tuesday that the United States has not seen a surge in asylum seekers in Haiti, but warned immigrants from Haiti and the neighboring Caribbean island of Cuba — currently plagued by protests and shortages of basic commodities — not to travel to the United States by sea.

“Let me be clear: if you go to sea, you will not come to the United States,” he said at a press conference. “Any immigrant intercepted at sea, regardless of their nationality, will not be allowed to enter the United States,” he said. “This risk is not worth taking.”

Nicole Phillips, the legal director of the Haitian Bridge Alliance, said that people are increasingly worried that even if the Haitian deportation flight stops, people arriving in the United States will continue to be detained, which may last a long time.

Phillips said those on parole usually wear anklets that can cause health problems, adding that most Haitians in the United States have relatives who can live with them.

“Almost every Haitian I’ve contacted has a family [in the US] If they are released from prison, they can be received. And the network of shelters they can go to,” she told Al Jazeera. “They don’t need to be detained. “