SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
To donate by check, phone, or other method, see our More Ways to Give page.
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
Hundreds of people, many of them Haitian, demonstrate against racism in Times Square on Martin Luther King Jr. Day on January 15, 2018 in New York City. (Photo: Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
Less than a week after President Donald Trump provoked international outrage by reportedly referring to Haiti, El Salvador, and African nations as" shithole" countries, the Department of Homeland Security is under fire for pushing the president's "racist anti-Haitian immigrant agenda" by specifically barring Haitians from applying for certain temporary work visas.
\u201cThis administration\u2019s racist anti Haitian immigrant agenda is real. Please stay vigilant and support our kin. https://t.co/tGZxDtPXZH\u201d— Ay\u1ecd (fka Opal) Tometi \ud83c\uddf3\ud83c\uddec\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 (@Ay\u1ecd (fka Opal) Tometi \ud83c\uddf3\ud83c\uddec\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8) 1516248091
The department announced in a regulatory filing that starting Thursday, Haiti, Belize, and Samoa would be removed from the list of more than 80 countries whose citizens can apply for H-2A and H-2B visas, which are often used by seasonal farm or hotel workers, including at Trump's properties.
DHS, citing high levels of fraud, justified the move by claiming that Haiti's participation in the program "is no longer in the U.S. interest."
Sarah Williamson, whose consultancy firm ran a pilot program to bring Haitians to the United States on seasonal work visas, told Reuters that although only a few dozen Haitians have used the visas each year since Haiti was added to the list, with this move, the Trump administration is "cutting off the most economically beneficial visa for the Haitian people."
"Even though not many people have been able to avail themselves of it," Williamson said, "it's been hugely transformational for those who have participated."
The visa decision follows recent moves by Trump's DHS to end protections for Haitians, Salvadorans, and Nicaraguans in the federal government's Temporary Protected Status (TPS) program, which allows foreigners impacted by armed conflicts or natural disasters to legally live and work in the United States.
Advocates for immigrant rights, politicians, and experts decried the visa decision on Twitter:
\u201cThis administration\u2019s racist and anti-Black agenda strikes again. \n\n\u201cHaitian farmers and other laborers seeking to come to the United States as temporary, seasonal workers under the federal H-2A and H-2B guest worker program, will no longer be eligible.\u201d\n\nhttps://t.co/FSPB6GCWG6\u201d— UndocuBlack Network (@UndocuBlack Network) 1516243748
\u201cThis latest attack comes after the Trump Administration callously decided to end Haiti\u2019s #TPS designation. "Champion" of Haitians, he is not.\u201d— Yvette D. Clarke (@Yvette D. Clarke) 1516229107
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Less than a week after President Donald Trump provoked international outrage by reportedly referring to Haiti, El Salvador, and African nations as" shithole" countries, the Department of Homeland Security is under fire for pushing the president's "racist anti-Haitian immigrant agenda" by specifically barring Haitians from applying for certain temporary work visas.
\u201cThis administration\u2019s racist anti Haitian immigrant agenda is real. Please stay vigilant and support our kin. https://t.co/tGZxDtPXZH\u201d— Ay\u1ecd (fka Opal) Tometi \ud83c\uddf3\ud83c\uddec\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 (@Ay\u1ecd (fka Opal) Tometi \ud83c\uddf3\ud83c\uddec\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8) 1516248091
The department announced in a regulatory filing that starting Thursday, Haiti, Belize, and Samoa would be removed from the list of more than 80 countries whose citizens can apply for H-2A and H-2B visas, which are often used by seasonal farm or hotel workers, including at Trump's properties.
DHS, citing high levels of fraud, justified the move by claiming that Haiti's participation in the program "is no longer in the U.S. interest."
Sarah Williamson, whose consultancy firm ran a pilot program to bring Haitians to the United States on seasonal work visas, told Reuters that although only a few dozen Haitians have used the visas each year since Haiti was added to the list, with this move, the Trump administration is "cutting off the most economically beneficial visa for the Haitian people."
"Even though not many people have been able to avail themselves of it," Williamson said, "it's been hugely transformational for those who have participated."
The visa decision follows recent moves by Trump's DHS to end protections for Haitians, Salvadorans, and Nicaraguans in the federal government's Temporary Protected Status (TPS) program, which allows foreigners impacted by armed conflicts or natural disasters to legally live and work in the United States.
Advocates for immigrant rights, politicians, and experts decried the visa decision on Twitter:
\u201cThis administration\u2019s racist and anti-Black agenda strikes again. \n\n\u201cHaitian farmers and other laborers seeking to come to the United States as temporary, seasonal workers under the federal H-2A and H-2B guest worker program, will no longer be eligible.\u201d\n\nhttps://t.co/FSPB6GCWG6\u201d— UndocuBlack Network (@UndocuBlack Network) 1516243748
\u201cThis latest attack comes after the Trump Administration callously decided to end Haiti\u2019s #TPS designation. "Champion" of Haitians, he is not.\u201d— Yvette D. Clarke (@Yvette D. Clarke) 1516229107
Less than a week after President Donald Trump provoked international outrage by reportedly referring to Haiti, El Salvador, and African nations as" shithole" countries, the Department of Homeland Security is under fire for pushing the president's "racist anti-Haitian immigrant agenda" by specifically barring Haitians from applying for certain temporary work visas.
\u201cThis administration\u2019s racist anti Haitian immigrant agenda is real. Please stay vigilant and support our kin. https://t.co/tGZxDtPXZH\u201d— Ay\u1ecd (fka Opal) Tometi \ud83c\uddf3\ud83c\uddec\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 (@Ay\u1ecd (fka Opal) Tometi \ud83c\uddf3\ud83c\uddec\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8) 1516248091
The department announced in a regulatory filing that starting Thursday, Haiti, Belize, and Samoa would be removed from the list of more than 80 countries whose citizens can apply for H-2A and H-2B visas, which are often used by seasonal farm or hotel workers, including at Trump's properties.
DHS, citing high levels of fraud, justified the move by claiming that Haiti's participation in the program "is no longer in the U.S. interest."
Sarah Williamson, whose consultancy firm ran a pilot program to bring Haitians to the United States on seasonal work visas, told Reuters that although only a few dozen Haitians have used the visas each year since Haiti was added to the list, with this move, the Trump administration is "cutting off the most economically beneficial visa for the Haitian people."
"Even though not many people have been able to avail themselves of it," Williamson said, "it's been hugely transformational for those who have participated."
The visa decision follows recent moves by Trump's DHS to end protections for Haitians, Salvadorans, and Nicaraguans in the federal government's Temporary Protected Status (TPS) program, which allows foreigners impacted by armed conflicts or natural disasters to legally live and work in the United States.
Advocates for immigrant rights, politicians, and experts decried the visa decision on Twitter:
\u201cThis administration\u2019s racist and anti-Black agenda strikes again. \n\n\u201cHaitian farmers and other laborers seeking to come to the United States as temporary, seasonal workers under the federal H-2A and H-2B guest worker program, will no longer be eligible.\u201d\n\nhttps://t.co/FSPB6GCWG6\u201d— UndocuBlack Network (@UndocuBlack Network) 1516243748
\u201cThis latest attack comes after the Trump Administration callously decided to end Haiti\u2019s #TPS designation. "Champion" of Haitians, he is not.\u201d— Yvette D. Clarke (@Yvette D. Clarke) 1516229107