At the same time, the Biden administration has discouraged Haitians, as well as Cubans fleeing their communist regime’s recent crackdown on anti-government protesters, from trying to reach the US by boat. Officials have made clear that those who try will be intercepted by the US Coast Guard and will not be permitted to enter the US. Instead, they will either be repatriated back to Haiti or, if they can demonstrate the need for humanitarian protection, resettled in another country.
“The United States has deployed staff and resources to Haiti to help survivors of the earthquake, a vital step,” Wendy Young, the president of the immigrant legal aid group Kids in Need of Defense, said in a statement. “For the administration to then also send Haitians back into harm’s way would not only be senseless and cruel, but it would also deepen the grave humanitarian issues U.S. assistance is trying to address.”