Jan 18, 2018
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
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
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
We've had enough.
The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in?
We can't do it without you. Thank you.