Fed up with violence, Haitians worldwide will march Sunday. Here’s where in South Florida
Haitians across the United States and the world plan to take to the streets Sunday to demand a “Relief for Haiti.”
The effort is being organized by pastor Gregory Toussaint, senior pastor of Tabernacle of Glory Church in North Miami. Toussaint, who is CEO of Shekinah.fm, says that the march is also expected to bring together Haitians in Haiti, Canada and France, in an effort to bring awareness to the escalating gang violence and kidnappings in the Caribbean country.
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In its latest report on the situation in the country, the United Nations says that violence by armed groups in the country is worsening, with sexual violence against women and girls and attacks against police officers and substations on the rise. María Isabel Salvador, who heads the U.N. Integrated Office in Haiti, told the U.N. Security Council that another worrying trend is the rise in vigilante killings. Her office has documented the killing of 264 alleged gang members by vigilante groups this year.
In the United States, marches are planned in a number of cities, including Atlanta, Newark, N.J., Brooklyn, San Diego, Boston, Chicago, Indianapolis, Washington, D.C., Orlando, Philadelphia and Tampa. In South Florida, the march will start from at North Miami Senior High School and end at North Miami City Hall.
One place where Haitians will not be marching is in the Dominican Republic. After receiving a permit, Tabernacle of Glory’s pastor John Santana, received two letters Saturday from the Department of Transit and Urban Mobility canceling the church’s permit to march through the streets of Santo Domingo. No reasons were given in the letters, shared with the Miami Herald.
Toussaint decided to organize the march after receiving 123,385 signatures on a petition urging the U.S. Congress to pass the Haiti Criminal Collusion Transparency Act. The legislation was first introduced last year in the House by Florida Democrat Val Demings, who lost her senatorial bid to unseat Sen. Marco Rubio in the state’s senatorial race in November. It was reintroduced by U.S. senators this year by a group of bipartisan senators, including Rubio.
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The legislation calls for financial sanctions against those supporting criminal gang activities in Haiti, which the Biden administration has already started to issue under the already existing Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act. Though some Haitians have become frustrated at the slow pace of U.S. sanctions compared to Canada, which has singled out more than two dozen members of Haiti’s political and economic elite, State Department officials say they remain committed but issuing Treasury sanctions take time and investigations.
Under the proposed legislation, the State Department would be required to provide annual reporting on the nature and magnitude of gang violence in Haiti; the connections between Haitian political and business elites and criminal gangs; and public access to that information.
“The goal of ‘Relief for Haiti’ is to mobilize compassionate individuals in the United States and overseas to advocate for legislation that can bring relief to the Haitian people, both in their homeland and abroad,” Toussaint said. “At this moment, there are 780 organizations from civil society, 933 pastors and their congregations, and 200,000 individuals that have pledged to join us. We urge the U.S. Congress to enact the Haiti Criminal Collusion Transparency Act of 2023, a powerful instrument designed to reveal and penalize those within Haiti’s influential circles who clandestinely support nefarious gangs.”
Toussaint is also calling on the Biden administration to maintain its humanitarian parole program for Haitians. The program currently benefits nationals of Haiti, Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela by allowing them to apply for humanitarian parole in the United States for as long as two years as long as they pass medical and background checks and have a financial sponsor in the U.S.
Toussaint says the program is “a vital conduit allowing Haitians to sponsor their kin and fellow countrymen in Haiti. This would allow a systematic and fair pathway for status regularization for Haitians who have arrived through the humanitarian parole program. By joining our efforts, you’re not only contributing to the mitigation of unlawful emigration from Haiti but also fulfilling the duty of a good neighbor.”
Not everyone agrees. Accusing the Biden administration of overarching its executive power, Florida Gov. Ron Desantis and the Republican governors of 19 other states, are challenging the legality of the program in federal courts.
Meanwhile, both Haitian and immigration advocates have also criticized the program as being “ill-advised and ill-conceived.” It doesn’t offer a clear path to legal residency or citizenship for those who arrive and it is also creating a brain drain in Haiti, where hospitals, banks, international organizations and even the Haiti National Police force have all complained about being unable to keep employees due to the lure of the U.S.
They note that the U.S. has continued to deport Haitians and have failed to prioritize other programs such as H-2A and H-2B visas under the federal guest worker program for agricultural and non-agricultural workers, and Haitian Family Reunification. While more than 29,000 Haitians have arrived in the U.S. since January under the parole program, fewer than 30 Haitians received guest work visas since Haiti was allowed to resume the program last year. Haitians continue to wait for invitations under the Haitian Family Reunification program, which expedites reunification of qualified applicants waiting for green cards by allowing them to come to the United States to wait it out.
IF YOU GO
What: “Souf pou Ayiti”/ “Relief for Haiti” march
When: Noon to 4 p.m., Sunday, July 9
Where: The march starts at North Miami Senior High School (13110 NE 8th Ave.) and ends at North Miami City Hall (776 NE 125th St.)
How to register: Those seeking to participate are asked to register at Shekinah.fm.
