December, 16 2010, 03:32pm EDT
CCR Sends Letter to Obama Raising Concerns Over Immediate Plans to Resume Deportations to Haiti Amid Spiraling Cholera Outbreak
100 Haitians Currently Awaiting Deportation in Louisiana
NEW YORK
Today the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) wrote to President
Barack Obama outlining concerns that deporting people with criminal
convictions to Haiti amounts to a death sentence for many. The letter
underlines the urgency of the problem given that, as reported to CCR
yesterday by immigration attorneys and advocates, approximately 100
Haitians with final orders of removal have been rounded up and
transferred to Louisiana in the last few days where they await
deportation to Haiti.
The letter describes worsening conditions since the earthquake in
January 2010 and a spiraling outbreak of cholera, particularly in the
prisons, that has already resulted in numerous deaths. The letter reads,
in part:
"Sending people to Haiti under these circumstances will end up being a
death sentence for many. Sending additional people from the U.S. into
the Haitian prison system will also further stress the resources
available to the impoverished people who are in the system now.
"We are asking you, in the name of human rights and human dignity, to immediately suspend deportations to Haiti."
See below for the full text of the letter and affidavits.
The Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) announced on
December 9 that it has lifted the ban on deportations to Haiti for
people with criminal convictions. Deportations to Haiti have been stayed
since shortly after the January 12, 2010 earthquake devastated the
country. ICE announced it has also ended the policy of releasing
detainees with orders of removal after 90 days, which could result in
their indefinite, unreasonable and arbitrary detention. Haitian
nationals with any criminal record are now likely subject to continued
detention and removal. Due to the worsening conditions in Haiti and the
spiraling cholera in the prisons, returning people could violate the
U.S.'s obligations on the Convention Against Torture.
Attached Files
The Center for Constitutional Rights is dedicated to advancing and protecting the rights guaranteed by the United States Constitution and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. CCR is committed to the creative use of law as a positive force for social change.
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