The Tahirih Justice Center joins the National Day of Action for Black Migrants led by the Haitian Bridge Alliance and the Black Alliance for Just Immigration.
International human rights law forbids sending people back to the country that they are fleeing when their lives are on the line. Black immigrants, including Haitians, have been discriminated against—and it’s costing lives. For months, thousands of Haitian asylum seekers and other Black migrants have been expelled from this country and denied their legal right to seek asylum. Black migrants deserve to be welcomed with dignity, not face an endless cycle of inhumane and violent treatment at the hands of our government.
Immigration enforcement disproportionately affects Black immigrants as they encounter institutions steeped in a violent legacy of anti-Black racism. The state enforces and perpetuates violence and oppression against Black immigrants through systems of policing, prisons, and immigration enforcement often results in their detention and deportation. Despite this, the experience of Black immigrants is often erased as people, media, and policymakers continue to perpetuate narratives that exclude Black migrants and people of color within the immigration system.
Additionally, ICE and other institutions that uphold dominant systems of power are sites of production and implementation of homophobia and transphobia intersecting with anti-Black racism, which means that Black LGBTQ+ migrants are more likely to be profiled and are often turned over to ICE and face abuse, detention, and deportation.
The Haitian community, and all Black migrants, have endured mistreatment, violence, and dehumanization at the hands of our government that are reflections of a fundamentally broken immigration system.
No person seeking safety should be subjected to this treatment. Tahirih calls for the Biden administration to treat Black migrants with dignity, respect, and humanity. Black migrants must be allowed to seek asylum, it is their legal right. It is far beyond time the administration ends the racist Title 42 policy, halt deportations, and investigate the horrific mistreatment of individuals seeking safety at our borders.
