If it is determined that Haitians who have “supported and collaborated” with a Haitian gang will be deported as legal permanent residents, President Donald Trump’s administration has stated.
In light of the president’s nationwide deportation drive, the announcement on Monday is the latest instance of Haitians living in the US. It also comes as the Trump administration attempts to end two additional legal statuses for Haitians.
Rights groups are also asking how the Trump administration comes up with its “terrorist organizations” in light of the update.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated in a statement that “certain individuals with US lawful permanent resident status have supported and collaborated with Haitian gang leaders connected to Viv Ansanm” but did not disclose how many people were being targeted or any names.
According to Rubio, the Department of Homeland Security can sue the government for the deportation of legal permanent residents who also hold green cards.
The State Department has been using broad powers under the Immigration and Nationality Act to try to deport people who are citizens of the US on various visas, including those who are permanent legal residents or students, as the Trump administration has attempted to increase deportations.
The state secretary has the authority to expel anyone who is found to have “potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States” under the law.
The State Department has repeatedly compared anti-Semitism and support for the “terrorist”-designated group Hamas to the administration’s legal efforts to deport four people.
In federal and immigration courts, all four people are contesting their deportations and arrests.
Rubio said that the US “will not allow individuals to enjoy the benefits of legal status in our country while they are facilitating the actions of violent organizations or supporting criminal terrorist organizations.”
The Viv Ansanm and Gran Grif gangs were referred to as “foreign terrorist organizations” by the State Department as a “direct threat to US national security interests in our region.”
That came after the Venezuelan-based Tren de Aragua and eight other Latin American criminal organizations were labeled as “terrorist organizations” in February.
Under an 18th-century wartime law known as the Alien Enemies Act, the administration has used its alleged affiliation with the gang to justify the administration’s swift deportation of Venezuelans living in the United States without documentation.
Court records show that some of the affected men were only targeted for tattoos or clothing that were allegedly associated with the group, contrary to what some have claimed was the removal of the proceedings.
Haitians were targeted.
Trump has made a prominent attack on the Haitian population in the US, first during his campaign when he falsely claimed that Springfield, Ohio, residents of Haiti were “eating” pets.
Since taking office, the administration has attempted to end a number of Haitian legal statuses, including a special humanitarian parole program led by former President Joe Biden, under which more than 200, 000 people have emigrated to the US.
The Trump administration was given the option to end the special status by the US Supreme Court in May.
Additionally, the Trump administration has pushed for the end of Haitians’ temporary protected status, which is legal status for citizens who already reside in the US but whose countries are deemed unsafe to travel to.
US Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem declared that Haiti’s violent crime crisis had not yet been resolved.
Source: Aljazeera
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