How two men shaped Haiti’s bloody revolutionary history

Paul Lay
Sat, January 7, 2023 

In this article:

Toussaint Louverture
Haitian general and revolutionary

Henri Christophe
President and King of Haiti (1767-1820)

Jean-Jacques Dessalines
Leader of Haitian Revolution and first ruler of independent Haiti (1758-1806)


'Black Spartacus': Toussaint Louverture, leader of the Haitian Revolution by de Baptiste (1875) - Photo 12/ Universal Images Group via Getty Images

By the time of the French Revolution, France’s colony of Saint-Domingue, the western portion of the Caribbean island of Hispaniola (now Haiti), was the most valuable plot of land on Earth. The wealth of the “Pearl of the Antilles” came from the new-found European taste for sugar and coffee – it produced half the world’s supply of both and was responsible for one third of French maritime trade.

But the economy of Saint-Domingue was underpinned by the violence and suffering inflicted on almost half a million enslaved Africans, who vastly outnumbered the white population of 40,000, and the slightly smaller – and free – mixed-race population. More than 300 Africans arrived in chains every week to be “fed into the slave machine”.

A slave revolt had long been feared, and brute force was the plantation-owning class’s way of maintaining order. Memories remained fresh of the fate of François Makandal, a Maroon – an escapee from slavery – who had been taken to the bustling, metropolitan city of Cap-Français to be burned at the stake in 1758 for inciting rebellion. The fear was finally realised in August 1791, amid tensions between the ruling classes exacerbated by the French Republic’s declaration of the Rights of Man and its opposition to slavery. Hundreds of plantations in the fertile north were ravaged, and both white and mixed-race settlers were massacred on a horrendous scale.

The aftermath of these tumultuous events is now the subject of two very different books. Sudhir Hazareesingh’s Black Spartacus (★★★☆☆), an “epic life” of François-Dominique Toussaint Louverture, the leader of the Haitian Revolution, has already won high praise and the 2021 Wolfson History Prize. Scholarly and highly readable, it is occasionally too much of a love letter to its subject: “Great Man” history, long disparaged among academics, is still acceptable, it seems, with a change of cast. Paul Clammer’s Black Crown (★★★★☆), however, a life of the less well-known Henry Christophe, who became King Henry I of Haiti in the years after the revolution, grasps the essential tragedy of history, in all its ambiguity and contingency.

Christophe, born into slavery on Grenada, would become a lieutenant of the much-feted Toussaint Louverture, a former coachman who became a free man in his 30s. Louverture subsequently owned slaves of his own, as a coffee-planter.

The Rebellion of the Slaves in Santo Domingo by the French School, an 18th century coloured engraving of the 1791 insurrection - Archives Charmet

Where historical fact is sparse, mythology flourishes, and there is uncertainty about what role Louverture actually played in the 1791 slave revolt. The plot appears to have been hatched on August 14, and unleashed a week later, when the Colonial Assembly was due to meet in Cap-Français. Its leader was Boukman Dutty, another coachman but also a priest.

The violence, according to one witness, “would make Nero blush”, and panicked whites fled to the cities and towns. It can be said with some certainty, however, that Louverture saved the wife of his former master by escorting her to safety from their plantation. Louverture, unlike many of his fellow revolutionaries, was open to white allies and believed to the end that the plantation system – albeit one manned by free labourers – was essential to future prosperity.

The embattled white colonists invested their hopes of restoring the old order in the British, who arrived to do just that in 1793; they failed when their forces were devastated by yellow fever. France, desperate to keep Saint-Domingue within its orbit, endorsed its commissioners’ decision to abolish slavery there in 1794.

By then, Louverture’s star was in the ascendant, though dependent upon the support of his army of former slaves and a strong relationship with the governor, Etienne Laveaux, who was the first to proclaim him “Black Spartacus”. He was faithful to France, sending his two sons to be educated there, but with Laveux’s departure, the metropole became ambivalent in its commitment to the freedom of Saint-Domingue’s black population – a red line for Louverture.

Napoleon, now similarly ascendant, had no such uncertainty and, having made peace with Britain in 1802, he launched an expedition to Saint-Domingue, led by his brother-in-law, Charles Victor Emmanuel Leclerc. Louverture was outlawed and cracks appeared in his already fractious alliance. Then he made a fatal mistake. He sought a truce with the French, but was arrested, transported to France – on a ship called The Hero – imprisoned in a medieval castle in the Jura mountains, and died within eight months.

An illustration of English General Thomas Maitland and Haitian revolutionary Toussaint L'Ouverture as they sign a treaty in March 1798 - Science Source/Photo Researchers History/Getty Images

The fate of his cause was now in the hands of two men, once his deputies, who may have conspired against him: Jean-Jacques Dessalines and Henri Christophe. Learning from the errors of Louverture, they sought to eliminate all rivals, press labourers back to work on the plantations, and indulge the French forces on Saint-Domingue just long enough that they would succumb to yellow fever, just as the British had done and Leclerc would do.

Their plan worked, and at the Battle of Vertières they defeated the weakened French. Soon the last of the colonial forces would be shepherded into captivity on Jamaica courtesy of the Royal Navy. On December 5 1803 – the same day that, 311 years before, Columbus had made landfall on the island – a new free nation was born: Haiti.

A Declaration of Independence was signed on January 1 1804, first by Dessalines, then by Christophe. Dessalines’s secretary observed that the ideal arrangement would be for “the skin of a white to serve as parchment, his skull as an inkwell, his blood for ink, and a bayonet for a pen”.

The slaughter of French residents followed, as did war against the French garrison that remained in Santo Domingo, the Spanish, eastern side of the island. It was clear that power rested on military strength and the regime commissioned the vast Citadelle fortress, designed by Henry Barré, which was to tower over northern Haiti. Restrictions were placed on labour and movement, and Dessalines became Emperor Jacques I. He would soon fall victim, in the southern city of Port-au-Prince, to an alliance of northern Maroons and the southern free mixed-race population crushed by Louverture. “Cruel poetry,” observes Clammer.

Civil war followed between north and south, with former ally Alexandre Pétion president of the southern Republic of Haiti. After Dessalines’s death in 1806, Christophe declared himself King Henry I. Apologists argued that the institution of monarchy was a link to Africa’s own dynasties: “Are there not in Africa an infinity of empires, kingdoms, and independent states?” And did the Taino, Haiti’s original inhabitants, not have their own hereditary chiefs, the caciques?

‘Destroyer of tyranny’: King Henry I of Haiti (formerly Henri Christophe); - Chronicle / Alamy Stock Photo

Whatever the reasoning, Christophe enjoyed the trappings. He took the additional titles of “Destroyer of Tyranny, Regenerator and Benefactor of the Haitian Nation…” and so on. He expanded the aristocracy, threw banquets, and built a palace, Sans Souci (named, probably, after a celebrated Maroon rather than Frederick the Great’s Potsdam residence). It was decorated with Greek gods and heroes depicted as Africans.

More productively, his navy intercepted slaving vessels, freeing those aboard to make a new life in Haiti. On one occasion, rescued Hausa children danced before him at court. His actions caught the attention of Joseph Banks, president of the Royal Society, who wrote: “To see a set of human beings emerging from slavery, and making rapid strides towards the perfection of civilisation, must I think be the most delightful of food for contemplation.” The abolitionist William Wilberforce paid for the passage to Haiti of Prince Saunders, a teacher in Boston’s African school, who introduced smallpox inoculation and played a key role in education policy.

But amid the progress, there was capricious brutality. Typical of this was the fate of a merchant, Vilton, a godfather of Christophe’s daughters, who in 1802 had tried to persuade him to surrender to Leclerc. He was put to death in 1819 for an alleged affair. An adulterous countess, meanwhile, was “obliged to ride through the streets of Sans Souci in a state of perfect nudity, at noon-day, on the back of a donkey, with her face toward the tail”.

It all came crashing down when, on August 15 1820, the king had a stroke while attending mass, just as a huge fire swept through Port-au-Prince. Knowing both the south and the French were empowered, King Henry committed suicide with a shot to the heart. Amid scenes of more brutality, his male heirs were butchered and his wife and daughters sent into exile. While Toussaint Louverture’s story is a heroic one, it is Henry’s tragedy that is the more compelling.

Black Spartacus by Sudhir Hazareesingh is published by Penguin at £10.99. To order your copy, call 0844 871 1514 or visit Telegraph Books

Black Crown by Paul Clammer is published by Hurst at £25. To order your copy for £19.99. call 0844 871 1514 or visit Telegraph Books

Amrit Kaur: the Indian princess who defied the Nazis

Rupert Christiansen
Sat, January 7, 2023 

Book review of In Search of Amrit Kaur: An Indian Princess in Wartime Paris, a new book by Livia Manera Sambuy - Victoria and Albert Museum

Ranking highest in the murky annals of the fabulously wealthy, alongside Roman emperors, American tycoons and Russian oligarchs, are the Indian maharajahs, whose riches – licensed by the British empire in return for their fealty – manifested themselves above all in the diamonds and pearls they ostentatiously displayed on their embroidered persons. In the popular imagination they tend to cut absurdly pretentious rather than tragically magnificent figures, their assets ultimately stripped by the levelling taxations of Partition and Indira Gandhi. But as Kipling tartly put it, “Providence created the maharajahs to offer mankind a spectacle”, and their romantic fascination casts a spell over the Italian journalist Livia Manera Sambuy.

While in Mumbai on a professional assignment, she visits an exhibition of portrait photographs of the Raj loaned from the V&A. Her eye is caught by an image, dating from 1924, of the elegant Amrit Kaur, daughter of the Maharajah of Kapurthala, a region in the Punjab. The caption announces that she died in Nazi imprisonment after her arrest in Paris on the charge of selling her jewellery to assist Jews attempting to escape France.

Manera Sambuy immediately becomes obsessed with this tantalising claim, which proves to be only half true. Pursuing wild hunches and blessed with the lightning flashes of serendipity and coincidence that all researchers pray for, she starts to excavate Amrit’s peripatetic life. Quite how she finances this expensive project, including several trips to India, is never made clear, but she makes an exemplary sleuth, both astute and open-minded.

Amrit's father was a westernised but polygamous Sikh commuting between a palace in India modelled on Versailles and a hôtel in the Jewish bankers’ compound of the Bois de Boulogne. Moving in Proustian circles, he was a figure of extravagant glamour, surrounded by the beau monde – his daughter-in-law, for instance, was Sita Devi, one of the great beauties of her day, a muse to Man Ray, photographed by Beaton and dressed by Mainbocher.

But Amrit, born in 1904, appears to have had a more serious bent. Educated at the progressive Clovelly-Kepplestone school in Eastbourne, she became a fervent champion of women’s rights. In 1927 she was interviewed by the New York Herald Tribune in the wake of a furore surrounding the publication of an incendiary book called Mother India which excoriated a native society that its American author Katherine Mayo depicted as corrupt and brutal. In response Amrit speaks out against child marriage and the patriarchal culture of purdah. “The men won’t really do much to help,” she complains. “It is for the women to try and get education for themselves and bring themselves to the level of men.” This was brave talk at the time, not least as Gandhi was insisting that women stay at home, subservient and spinning.

In 1923 Amrit had married a rajah and embarked on a very grand tour during which they were received in London by George V. Back in India, her husband soon took another woman and married again, by which time Amrit had given birth to a son and a daughter. Manera Sambuy tracks the latter down in Poona, but she is frustratingly unable to provide any clues, as it emerges that Amrit apparently abandoned her children in 1933 to live in Paris, never to return. To take the story any further here would spoil the unraveling of the mystery.

As far as one can gather from Todd Portnowitz’s fluent translation from the Italian, Manera Sambuy writes with impassioned style and insight, attributing the motivation for her long and dogged hunt for Amrit to crises in her own life and lost relationships: self-analysis provides a running counterpoint to her investigation into Amrit’s story.

But the result is one of those books where the casual reader may struggle to keep pace with the author’s enthusiasm for his or her subject and the trail that is being followed. The chronology ricochets, minor characters come and go without ever quite coming into focus, and since many of the intriguing twists and turns lead to dead ends, the big reveal in the puzzle of Amrit’s behaviour comes as a faint disappointment, not least because the evidence that surfaces leaves her a shadowy enigma whose voice is only faintly heard.

In Search of Amrit Kaur is published by Chatto & Windus at £25. To order your copy call 0844 871 1514 or visit Telegraph Books

Indian-Americans driving change in North Texas as their political, economic clout grows


Dalia Faheid
Sat, January 7, 2023 


Little Elm Councilman Tony Singh likes to joke that he’s an accidental politician. Growing up as a military brat with his father in the Indian Navy, 42-year-old Singh had become accustomed to packing his bags every few years.

“But now, Little Elm is my home forever,” Singh says.

With the goal of serving his newfound community, Singh signed up for Citizens Government Academy, an eight-week program offering Little Elm residents the opportunity to learn about the local government’s daily functions and roles. To help keep residents safe, the sales engineer and his wife Crystal volunteered with the police department, the fire department, Citizens on Patrol and Make 380 Safe. Before joining the town council, Singh served as a commissioner on the town’s planning and zoning commission.

“I thought elected officials should be more proactive, should be there for the community all the time, they should be accessible,” he said of his run for the town council. “People should be your first priority. I’m a volunteer first and a politician second.”

The growing number of Indian-Americans in North Texas is establishing itself as a formidable block in cities throughout the Metroplex. From technology, to schools to politics, Indian-Americans like Singh have made an indelible mark in the cultural fabric of North Texas.

U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2010 and 2020 5-year estimates

Asians are the state’s fastest-growing population, with Indian-Americans being the largest group in that category. Overall, Texas has the second largest Indian-American population in the country. In 2010, there were 230,842 Indian-Americans in Texas, making up 0.9% of the population, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. By 2020, that number nearly doubled, with 434,221 Indian-Americans making up 1.5% of the state’s population.

U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2010, 2015, 2020 5-year estimates

That growth was apparent in Dallas-Fort Worth, where about 220,000 Indian-Americans live. In Collin County, the Indian-American population grew from 3.8% to 7.5% in the last decade, and Denton County from 2.2% to 4.1%. The percentage of Indian-Americans in Dallas County went from 1.6% to 2.4%, and in Tarrant County it increased from 0.9% to 1.1%. Between 2015 and 2020 alone, about 14,189 more resided in Fort Worth, Dallas and Plano.

A career solving problems

McKinney resident Dinesh Hooda, 39, said he came to Texas in 2011 for the job opportunities. He had worked for cybersecurity company McAfee in India for nearly eight years before being transferred as a senior software engineer. Hooda earned a master’s degree in computer science in India, and later an MBA from Texas A&M University.

“Technology always fascinated me from the beginning when I was a child, because you can achieve more things by following the latest technology and it leads to more work,” he said. “Technology makes good use of human power and multiplies it a lot.”

Hooda is one of a large proportion of Indian-American science, technology, engineering, and mathematics workers in North Texas. More than half of Indian-American employees work in only three industries: computer science and mathematics, management and health care. They also own 5% of all businesses in Collin, Denton, Dallas and Tarrant counties, representing more than a third of all Asian businesses.

Indian-Americans are among the highest earners of all immigrants, according to an August report from the Indian American CEO Council and the Institute for Urban Policy Research at the University of Texas at Dallas. The average income for Indian-Americans in Dallas-Fort Worth is $58,879, about 48% more than other groups. And 41% make $150,000 or more annually, according to the Census Bureau. In North Texas, most Indian-Americans are college educated, with nearly half having a graduate or professional degree.

It was difficult for Hooda, his wife and four-year-old son to adjust to the change at first, not having the community he had in India. Even finding vegetarian food, which was usually easily accessible to them, had proved to be a challenge. And when school started, his son was anxious to go fearful that his teachers wouldn’t understand him.

“We did not know anyone here except my manager to whom I was reporting to,” he said. “When you don’t know anyone, then smaller things also become bigger things.”

That was until Hooda attended an Indian Independence Day event hosted by the India Association of North Texas. For the first time, Hooda’s family was able to connect with Indian Americans living in North Texas. Since then, that group has given them a sense of belonging and a tie to their Indian culture.

“It was really big for me, because I made a couple of friends from that group. And then that way, I felt that yeah there are more more people here in the area which look more like me. And then they also were going through the same immigration challenges in which I am going through,” Hooda said.

Hooda now works as senior technical program manager at Uber, where he works with engineers to prevent fraud on the platform.

“I want to definitely continue to work on challenging problems and solve them, and continue to grow in my career,” Hooda said.

A family’s promising future

Frisco resident Urmeet Juneja, 50, moved to the U.S. in 2012 to build a promising future for his family of four. Over the past decade, he and his wife Harleen raised their two kids Rajmeet and Manraj in North Texas, and that future has become a reality.

“Since I came from India to the U.S., it was kind of a little challenging to settle down. Not that much for me, but for my family and kids, because it was a change in culture, it was a change in language,” Juneja said. “So the kids took some time to get acclimatized with the culture and the language here. It was a couple of years before they actually felt settled down.”

Rajmeet and Manraj had to leave behind friends as well as extended family back in India, so Texas was initially a lonely place for them. Because English had not been their primary language, it took about a year of ESL classes before they felt fully comfortable communicating with classmates and teachers.

“What I could see is they would hang out with friends who were of the same culture and same background,” Juneja said. “It took them some time to get into the groove where they had friends who were non-immigrants.”

Soon, the family found a gurudwara, or Sikh temple, to worship at every Sunday. Later, Juneja became president of the India Association of North Texas. That community involvement helped the family remain connected to their values and culture and makes them feel at-home, Juneja said.

“We have a very large community,” Juneja said. “I myself am involved with the India Association of North Texas, so that’s kind of heavy involvement in the cultural activities and educational activities that the association does, plus we also deal with the state representatives, the mayor and all to take up the issues of the Indian community, if any, and then we also focus on growing the cultural diversity and showing that to the community at large. That keeps even the children connected with their culture, which is back in India.”

A senior at UTD, Rajmeet, 21, will be earning a computer science and engineering degree in 2023. As a Centennial High School senior, Manraj wants to attend the UT McCombs School of Business, majoring in business and finance. In the long-term, the 17-year-old plans to take up corporate law.

“That was the goal — that my kids would live in an environment where they’ll get a better education, they’ll get more prospects once they grow up,” he said. “I’m hoping my kids grow up and get into good jobs or start something of their own and do well in their life. And at the same time, also keeping intact their cultural values and being in touch with their Indian value system which we have grown up into.”

A significant political constituency

The more than 4.16 million Indian-Americans have appeared as a significant political constituency. In the United States, there are 1.9 million Indian-American voters.

Indian-Americans serve as elected officials throughout the Lone Star State, and even more are running for county, state and federal office this year. In the November election, advocacy group Indian American Impact endorsed six Texas candidates of South Asian descent. One of those running for re-election is Judge Juli Mathew, who in 2018 became the first Asian judge in Fort Bend County. Also, Euless resident Salman Bhojani would be the first South Asian elected to the Texas legislature.

“When I was running, there were very few [Indian-Americans] running, but now I see more and more people are running every year,” Councilman Singh said. “In coming years, Indian-Americans will be a very big group, which can influence a lot of things in this area, in all of Texas.”

Because of their relatively young status and recent arrival, the IACEO/UTD report says, it’s possible that the full political impact of the Indian-American community has not been fully realized. The Indian-American population is relatively young, with a median age of 40, compared to 46 for other immigrants. About two-thirds arrived in the U.S. after 2000. Dallas-Fort Worth approved the fourth highest number of green card holders from India, behind New York City, Chicago and San Francisco.

Groups like SAAVETX and the Indian American Coalition of Texas are helping to register South Asian voters in places of worship, community centers and neighborhoods throughout Texas. Those efforts helped to drive record turnout for the 2020 election. The biggest concern for the Indian-American community is the immigration system, Juneja says.

“I was fortunate enough to come on an L-1A visa, which is the executive visa, but most of the Indian American community comes on the H-1B visa and then they struggle to keep the status intact. A lot of times their kids they grew up for like 14, 15 years, they stay on H-1B, and the kids after the age of 21 they are out of status and they have to struggle to find their own immigration status,” Juneja said. “We have the people who have been staying here from such a long time. But then also we have an influx of new people coming in every year on an H-1B visa, those who have been here for 10 years and still struggling to get a permanent status.”

In 2003, Singh moved to Texas from India to get his master’s degree in electrical engineering at the University of Texas at Arlington. Then in 2011, he decided to settle in Little Elm with Crystal because it had the unique charm of a small town, like the beach on the shores of Lake Lewisville, with all the amenities of a big city, including health care that Crystal needed as a cancer survivor.

Now in his second term, Singh still does regular volunteer work, like helping out at the Little Elm Area Food Bank every first Saturday of the month and making donations through his nonprofit called the Little Elm Angels Foundation. He aims to get more residents informed of what is happening with their town and get more involved.

“As long as I can take care of the people, respond to people on-time, be accessible to people and create value for the town, we’ll be here,” Singh said.

UAW workers reject CNH offer, extending 8-month strike


Sat, January 7, 2023 

More than 1,000 striking CNH Industrial workers in Iowa and Wisconsin rejected the “last, best and final offer” from the maker of construction and agricultural equipment Saturday night, extending their eight-month stoppage.

In a statement, the United Auto Workers union announced the result of the vote by members who work for CNH and said the union's bargaining committee “will meet to discuss next steps to take with” the company.

It was the first vote on an offer since the workers walked off the job months ago. The UAW said this week that it had decided to put the offer before members, but didn't offer details.

Workers at the plants in Burlington, Iowa, and Racine, Wisconsin, previously rejected at the start of the strike a three-year deal that included 18.5% raises because of concerns that the proposed raises wouldn't cover soaring inflation and health insurance costs. The UAW has not provided many updates on what CNH has offered since the strike began last May.

Workers on the picket line in Burlington told WQAD television Monday that they wanted to go back to work but only if they receive a fair contract.

There was no immediate response to AP email messages requesting comment from the company late Saturday.

CNH Industrial, which is based in the United Kingdom, has more than 37,000 employees worldwide. In its most recent earnings report, CNH reported a profit of $559 million in the third quarter. That's up nearly 22% from the previous year's $460 million net income as it increased the prices of its tractors, backhoes and other equipment.

The CNH strike is one of the longest ones over the past couple of years as workers have increasingly demanded better pay and working conditions coming out of the pandemic. There have been a number of strikes, including a high profile monthlong strike involving 10,000 Deere & Co. workers, and several new unions have been established at Starbucks stores and Amazon warehouses although some locations have rejected unions. The Deere workers secured 10% raises and improved benefits after their strike.

ROGUE NATION U$A
Op-Ed: Enough with the political games. Migrants have a right to asylum

Karen Musalo
Fri, January 6, 2023 

Migrants walk past razor wire fencing to be taken by the Border Patrol after crossing the Rio Grande at Eagle Pass, Texas, in May. 

(Dario Lopez-Mills / Associated Press)

President Biden’s seemingly chaotic policy toward asylum seekers at the U.S. border is no accident. It’s carefully crafted to minimize political fallout. The administration should keep it simple instead, by following the law and doing the right thing — admitting those who arrive at our borders seeking asylum.

Give voters a chance, Mr. President. The American people value decency. They don’t respect craven and calculated inconsistency.

This week, the Biden administration announced an expansion of a Trump-era policy to turn away individuals fleeing persecution who reach our borders. This began with a pretext of limiting the spread of COVID-19, using a public health law known as Title 42. Now it’s just a sop to people who oppose immigration.

Until the Trump administration used Title 42 in this way, the nation had honored its obligation to asylum seekers for 40 years, under the 1980 Refugee Act. It grants the right to seek protection. Abrogating that right has resulted in the untold suffering, the return of refugees to persecution and death, and chaos at the U.S.-Mexico border.

In April 2022, the Biden administration stated its intent to end Title 42. Litigation delayed the termination, but in mid-November, a federal judge ruled the policy unlawful, and ordered it to end by Dec. 21. The Supreme Court has stayed that order until it hears arguments next month.

Now, in a head-spinning turn of events, Biden has announced the expansion of Title 42 to Haitians, Nicaraguans and Cubans — nationalities that had not previously been subject to summary expulsion at the border.

If this were not enough of a contradiction, the administration also plans to resurrect another Trump-era policy which Biden had previously denounced, the “transit ban.” This rule bars from asylum any migrants who do not apply for and receive a denial of asylum from the countries they pass through on their way to the U.S.

This “outsourcing” of our refugee obligations to countries of transit, which a federal court found unlawful when implemented by the Trump administration, is ludicrous on its face. The asylum seekers who arrive at our border pass through countries such as Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala, with human rights conditions as dire as in the migrants’ nations of origin.

To date, the only country with which we legally have such an arrangement is Canada — which makes sense because it has a robust refugee protection system and an admirable human rights record. And even if there are other countries of transit, such as Costa Rica, that have a well-developed framework for the protection of refugees, and solid records on human rights, they are already taking in numbers of asylum seekers that far exceed their capacity.

At the same time as the Biden administration rolls out plans for these and other anti-asylum policies, it has announced a number of laudable measures, two particularly worthy of mention.

First, the administration will create a special “parole” program for Nicaraguans, Haitians and Cubans, similar to one created for Venezuelans. This program will allow the entry of up to 30,000 individuals from the four countries each month — if they have a sponsor in the U.S. These individuals will be permitted to remain in the United States for two years, with authorization to work.

Second, the administration will increase to 20,000 from 15,000 the number of refugees from Latin America and the Caribbean whom it admits for resettlement in fiscal years 2023 and 2024.

These are positive developments, but modest compared with the unlawful and punitive anti-immigrant measures in this package deal.

It is no secret that the Republicans are highly motivated to make the border an issue. They will continue to do so, regardless of the reality. Rather than crack down on asylum seekers to woo the votes of anti-immigrant constituencies, Biden should uphold our legal obligations and make the case for why it is the right thing to do.

Doing so is the principled and moral path. It is also good politics. Polling consistently shows strong support for protecting asylum seekers, across party lines. It is not too late for the administration to change course, to uphold our national ideals, and to be an example to other nations around the world.

Biden will be criticized either way. He might as well be criticized for doing the right thing.

Karen Musalo is a law professor and the founding director of the Center for Gender and Refugee Studies at UC Law, San Francisco. She is also lead co-author of “Refugee Law and Policy: A Comparative and International Approach.”

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

Immigration advocates slam Biden’s new border rules: ‘It’s a wealth test.’


Jacqueline Charles, Michael Wilner, Nora Gámez Torres
Fri, January 6, 2023

Soon after taking office, President Joe Biden sent legislation to Congress to reform America’s immigration system, promising to restore fairness and compassion and reverse Trump-era policies that made it difficult for fleeing migrants to seek protection in the United States.

But rather than the sweeping immigration reforms promised, the Biden administration is instead being accused of stripping away migrants’ rights to seek asylum at U.S. borders and expanding the use of hard-line Trump-era policies like Title 42, the pandemic-era measure used during the last three years to quickly expel hundreds of thousands of migrants for public-health reasons back to Mexico or their home countries.

On Thursday, the administration announced that anyone seeking asylum at a U.S.-Mexico border checkpoint will now need to first book an appointment online by downloading a Customs and Border Protection app called CBP One. If an appointment is granted, asylum seekers will then need to go to a specified port of entry in Arizona, Texas or California. Also, the U.S. announced it will accept up to 30,000 legal migrants a month from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela while expelling others who illegally cross the border under Title 42. To apply, the migrants from those four countries, who will be allowed in for two years and allowed to work, will need to go online.

While advocates welcomed the opening of the new legal pathway for migrants from the four nations, they heavily criticized the administration’s new border policies, calling them “a wealth test” that ignores the United States’ obligation to protect vulnerable people who are fleeing persecution and now requiring refugees to get a smartphone and data plan.

“We also must ask how implementing a system that requires migrants to have a smartphone with internet access and have a certain level of digital navigation skills to set their immigration appointments impact those desperately seeking safety, especially those who don’t speak English, or Spanish, or don’t manage a written language,” said Tessa Peti, executive director of the Florida Immigrant Coalition.

‘Imminent threats’

Melissa Crow of the Center for Gender and Refugee Studies at University of California Hastings College of the Law in San Francisco, said as Biden noted during his announcement about the new policies on Thursday, traveling to the U.S. to seek asylum is not a decision that any person takes lightly.

“People arriving at our border are often fleeing imminent threats to their lives. Not to mention that they may not have cellphones, reliable internet access or even be aware of the CBP One app,” she said, adding that Thursday’s announcement “represents a total abandonment of President Biden’s campaign promises.”

“It’s been deeply disturbing to hear the president affirm that seeking asylum is legal and have him pledge to create a safe and humane process at the border and then turn around and announce policies that further undermine access to asylum,” Crow, director of litigation, said Friday during a call with some of the 100 advocates who are part of the #WelcomeWithDignity Campaign for asylum rights. “These reckless policy decisions will exact a horrific human toll and will leave a lasting stain on the president’s legacy.”

As humanitarian groups criticized the new policy announcement Friday, John Kirby, coordinator for strategic communications at the National Security Council in the White House, pushed back Friday.

“Obviously, we take a different view,” Kirby told reporters at a press briefing. “What we would say is this is a president who understands that safe and legal immigration into this country is a key cornerstone of our own security and prosperity, and that he is advancing ways to improve those legal pathways to entry.”

“He increased — dramatically increased — the number of refugees that we’re willing to take in from nations in the hemisphere. He also improved the process by which people seeking asylum can do that in, again, a legal, safe way,” Kirby added. “And we’re also, obviously, having to make sure that it’s legal migration that we’re focused on, and that illegal migration is curbed as best as we can through more stringent enforcement mechanisms. So it’s a balance.”

Cuban migration to the U.S. surged in 2022

According to U.S. Customs and Border Patrol data, migration from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela has increased following a lull after the implementation of Title 42, a policy to expel migrants implemented during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Since then, total numbers of migrants coming each country month have fluctuated, often seasonally or following political events or policy changes specific to migrants from a particular country of origin. Data show migration from Cuba increased the most since the beginning of 2022.


Source: U.S. Customs and Border Protection data for "nationwide encounters." Data include “U.S. Border Patrol Title 8 apprehensions, Office of Field Operations Title 8 inadmissibles, and all Title 42 expulsions” for fiscal year 2020 through December 2022 when these data were last updated, according to CBP.
Susan Merriam | McClatchy and Ana Claudia Chacin | Miami Herald

In announcing the changes, Department of Homeland Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas insisted that the administration is still preparing for the end of Title 42, and that the new measures are to provide for safe and orderly processes at the 2,000-mile U.S. Mexico border, where migrant surges often convey images of chaos and confusion.

Mayorkas said the new rules are a reflection of an administration that is “doubling down” on its collaboration with other countries in the region following last year’s Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles. During the summit, regional leaders along the migratory chain, which stretches from South to Central America to Mexico, agreed to create legal pathways for migrants and better enforce their borders.

‘Inhumane’ policy

But even Biden’s own congressional supporters, like Democratic U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey, who sponsored his comprehensive immigration overhaul bill in the Senate, aren’t completely on board with the new changes. Menendez and three other Democratic senators have condemned the policy announcement, which includes a potential asylum ban for those who fail to apply for asylum in a third country while in transit to the United States.

In a joint statement, the senators said while they welcomed the increased possibility of the U.S. allowing Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans into the country under the new parole program, the new measures still make migrants vulnerable to traffickers.

U.S. Sen. Bob Menéndez

“This narrow benefit will exclude thousands of migrants fleeing violence and persecution who do not have the ability or economic means to qualify for the new parole process,” Menendez said in the statement with senators Ben Ray Luján of New Mexico, Alex Padilla of California and Cory Booker of New Jersey.

The continued used of Title 42, “a failed and inhumane Trump-era policy,” will do nothing to restore the rule of law at the border, the lawmaker said, adding that they are “deeply disappointed by the Biden administration’s decision to expand” use of the public health rule.

“Instead, it will increase border crossings over time and further enrich human smuggling networks,” the statement said.

At issue for most critics is the continued and expanded use of Title 42, whose controversial use by the Trump administration was criticized by Biden on the campaign trail and whose termination last month was blocked in court by Republican governors in border states. The U.S. Supreme Court is scheduled to hear oral arguments on March 1.

“Title 42 was a kind of somewhat cynical effort by the Trump administration to prevent people from crossing into the United States or even applying for asylum. It was a sweeping over-extension of what was a public health measure, to deal with an immigration crisis,” said Michael Posner, a former Obama administration official who is currently the director of the New York University Stern Center for Business and Human Rights. “I think to the extent that the Biden administration is continuing to use Title 42, is a mistake.”

Posner said the border policies announced by the Biden administration this week can best be described as “a piecemeal approach to a crisis” whose responsibility for resolution rests partly with the Biden administration and a Congress, which refuses to look at comprehensive immigration reform.

Asylum backlog

For 50 years, Posner said, U.S. law has allowed people who come to the border to apply for asylum to seek protection from persecution. He acknowledges that, with an asylum application backlog of 1.7 million cases that can take at least four years to resolve, the system is broken and needs addressing.

“President Biden is going to the border next week and it’s going to heighten public attention to these issues,” Posner added. “But this is a moment for the Biden administration to basically stand up for the principle of asylum; stand up and push to Republicans who are in disarray to provide the kinds of resources to fix the asylum paralysis, so that it is a viable alternative and you don’t have people taking advantage of that system, because it’s broken. We need a system that allows genuine refugees to apply for asylum but filters out those who are simply using the law as a way to get into the United States and don’t have a viable claim.”

Immigration advocates agree.

Amnesty International condemned the administration’s new measures as an “attack on the human right to seek asylum.”

Amy Fischer, Amnesty International USA Advocacy Director for the Americas, said the Biden administration has “fully reversed course on its stated commitment to human rights and racial justice by once again expanding the use of Title 42, announcing rule-making on an asylum transit ban, expanding the use of expedited removal, and implementing a new system to require appointments through a mobile app for those desperately seeking safety.”

“These new policies will undoubtedly have a disparate impact on Black, Brown, and Indigenous people seeking safety,” she said. “In fact, Amnesty International previously found that the cruel treatment of Haitians under Title 42 subjected Haitian asylum seekers to arbitrary detention and discriminatory and humiliating ill-treatment that amounts to race-based torture.”

Eleanor Acer, senior director for refugee protection at Human Rights First, said Friday that despite the Biden administration’s “plans to add some tweaks to their asylum ban at the end of the day, it’s an asylum ban, which is a policy straight out of Trump’s playbook.”

“The pursuit of an asylum ban would be a tremendous political miscalculation that will play into the hands of allies of the former administration by bolstering their messages and normalizing their agenda,” Acer said. “It will cause disorder rather than order, turn away Black and Brown refugees who suffer great harm, separate families and subvert refugee law and human rights.”

Citing a December 2020 report by the group, Acer said Human Rights First tracked over 13,400 reports of kidnapping, torture, rape and other brutal attacks against asylum seekers who were blocked by the U.S. or expelled back into Mexico under Title 42 since Biden took office two years ago.

Also of concern is that the United States is outsourcing its obligations to countries that don’t necessarily have a good track record with asylum claims, or the treatment of migrants. For example, while Mexico was the world’s third most popular destination for asylum-seekers in 2021 after the U.S. and Germany, according to the United Nations, studies show that Haitians and Cubans have low approval acceptances.

Immigration advocates say while the administration has touted that the new parole program for Cubans, Haitians and Nicaraguans is being based on the “success” of a similar program for Ukrainian and Venezuelan refugees, they remain concerned that only middle-class individuals with valid passports, access to the internet and the ability to purchase their tickets to the U.S. will be able to benefit.

Acer said Human Rights First has found flaws in the Venezuela parole program, which remains inaccessible to many of the most vulnerable refugees in need of protection.

“That is a humanitarian disaster. Far from being a success, the Biden administration’s decision to expand use of Title 42 to expel people seeking asylum from Venezuela has also been a humanitarian disgrace. So too will be an expansion of Title 42 to expel people seeking asylum from Cuba, Haiti and Nicaragua,” she said

. “We recommend that the Biden administration do all it can to restore refugee law at ports of entry and along the borders; maximize its capacity to process asylum seekers swiftly through ports of entry [and] increase an improved safe pathway for migrants seeking travel to this country.”

Border bishop takes lead role in Catholic migrant ministry






AP Photo/Giovanna Dell'Orto)

GIOVANNA DELL'ORTO
Fri, January 6, 2023 


EL PASO, Texas (AP) — With a cheerful “soy Marcos” – “I’m Mark,” in Spanish – Bishop Mark Seitz introduced himself to migrants eating soup in the shelter on the grounds of the Catholic Diocese of El Paso, less than two miles from the U.S.-Mexico border.

The migration crisis roiling the borderlands is literally in the backyard of the new chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ migration committee, a ministry started a century ago. Seitz will be the first border bishop to serve in this role in at least two decades; he says it will allow him to bring “a new energy to this work from someone who sees it pretty much every day.”

“Immigrants have had the experience of leaving everything that helped them to feel at home and secure in this life behind, and to depend utterly on God as they journey," Seitz told The Associated Press a few days before Christmas. “They have so much to teach us about how God will accompany us on our journey.”

In the simple shelter that day, 65 migrants, mostly Nicaraguans, rested after being released by U.S. immigration authorities. Volunteers helped families make arrangements to reach sponsors across the United States – from new clothing to plane tickets to shampoo packets small enough to carry past airport security.

El Paso's role in the migration crisis will be highlighted on Sunday when it will be Joe Biden's destination on his first trip to the southern border as president.

On both sides of the border, faith-based organizations have historically done most of the work caring for migrants. Their efforts are particularly visible when unprecedented numbers of new arrivals overwhelm local and federal authorities in cities like El Paso, leaving thousands in the streets.

The Catholic Church often leads these humanitarian efforts. Ministering to migrants and refugees has been a priority for Pope Francis, who in December referred to the Virgin of Guadalupe, much-beloved among Latin American faithful, as “in the middle of the caravans who seek freedoms walking to the north.”

The Vatican, Catholic nonprofits and bishops' conferences across the world collaborate to advocate at all political levels “for just and humane policies,” said Bill Canny, who leads the USCCB's Department of Migration and Refugee Services.

Border bishops like Seitz are “critically important” to that mission because they provide “a real-time perspective,” Canny added.

The political advocacy of U.S. bishops stems from their mission to care for the most vulnerable, said Steven Millies, a professor at the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago. However, Millies said the USCCB tends to be most visible in its anti-abortion fight and other “culture wars,” getting entangled in partisan divisions that can undermine its advocacy for other causes.

To Seitz, who was chairman-elect of the migration committee for a year before starting his three-year term in November, a stronger and nuanced Catholic response to migration “can be something that brings the church to life.”

“I think most people would be surprised, and I hope pleasantly surprised, to see the degree of unanimity among the bishops on this question of immigration,” Seitz said. “So many of the bishops have come up to me and expressed … a concern about how we need to do better to welcome (migrants).”

A Milwaukee native who served as bishop of El Paso for the past decade -- which saw three U.S. administrations struggle to manage surges of arrivals of families from Central America and beyond -- Seitz knows the challenges first-hand.

As he spoke to the AP, he was notified the Supreme Court had issued a stay for pandemic-era restrictions on asylum-seekers.

Seitz had been working with churches and civil authorities “for a scenario in which higher numbers may be coming across than we’ve ever seen” if restrictions were lifted as expected on Dec. 21 – but the stay offered no relief.

“These are, by definition, not the kind of people who can make an application and wait five years to be able to cross,” Seitz said. “And we’re not even asking those questions right now with Title 42. We don’t ask, why did you come? We simply say, turn around and go back somewhere. And we’re sending them into some of the more unstable and dangerous places in the world.”

Places like Ciudad Juarez, a sprawling metropolis just across the border from El Paso, where thousands of migrants were made to wait for their U.S. asylum appointments during the Trump administration and more have been waiting out Title 42 recently, amid organized crime cartels that routinely prey on them.

Seitz created a relief fund that donated hundreds of thousands of dollars, notably for food and medicine, to shelters there. This fall, it helped open a medical clinic in Juarez’s largest migrant shelter, said Dylan Corbett, director of Hope Border Institute, which manages the clinic.

“It’s really hard, because patterns and policies are constantly evolving,” Corbett said. “We’re in an acute situation at the border.”

Even with Title 42 in place, U.S. officials apprehended and released more than 50,000 asylum-seekers in El Paso from the beginning of October, said the Rev. Michael Gallagher, a Jesuit priest and attorney.

“Bishop Seitz urged parishes to open up empty spaces” like halls as temporary shelters, Gallagher added. His downtown church, Sacred Heart, has been hosting nearly 200 migrants nightly in the gym.

“As people who have been called by Jesus and the Gospel to serve … this sounds like it’s right up our alley,” Seitz explained.

His ministry extends beyond sheltering. For more than a year, he’s been celebrating Mass at a federal shelter for unaccompanied minor migrants and he wears on his right wrist friendship bracelets woven by some of them.

He’s just added a new one, from a mid-December trip to Guatemala to learn from grassroots organizations what pushes so many people on their dangerous northward journey.

That’s an area where Seitz believes the bishops’ conference can make an impact, providing guidance on how the United States can facilitate stability and job creation in origin countries.

Another priority for Seitz focuses on the church’s role in building better understanding between Americans far beyond the borderlands and new immigrants.

“Why do we tend to look at them and say, ‘I think they’re probably criminals,’ instead of to look at them and say, ‘I think they’re probably people in need’?” Seitz said, adding that he also sees a need for “a more orderly process for people to be able to cross.”

His advice starts small – encouraging the faithful to attend Spanish-language Masses, which are increasingly common across the country, and meet migrant churchgoers.

“In that simple act, you will be accomplishing a lot more than you could imagine to help us to welcome and integrate the people who are joining our communities,” Seitz said.

___

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

Cubans crossing into US stunned to hear of new asylum limits






Biden BorderPresident Joe Biden speaks about border security in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, Thursday, Jan. 5, 2023, in Washington.

 (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

ELLIOT SPAGAT
Fri, January 6, 2023 

YUMA, Ariz. (AP) — Migrants who entered the U.S. illegally under moonlit skies and waist-deep cold water Friday were devastated to learn they may be sent back to Mexico under expanded limits on the pursuit of asylum.

About 200 migrants who walked in the dark for about an hour to surrender to Border Patrol agents in Yuma, Arizona, included many Cubans — who were stunned to hear that a ban on asylum that previously fell largely on other nationalities now applies just as much to them. Several were political dissidents of the Cuban government who were driven to leave by longstanding fears of incarceration and persecution and a new sense of economic desperation.

President Joe Biden announced Thursday that Cubans, Nicaraguans, Haitians and Venezuelans will be expelled to Mexico if they enter the U.S. illegally, effective immediately. At the same time, he offered humanitarian parole for up to 30,000 people a month from those four countries if they apply online, pay for their airfare and find a financial sponsor.

Mario Enrique Perez, 32, said he would rather be incarcerated in the U.S. than be returned to Mexico, where, he said, he and his wife endured many slights and poor treatment during a two-month journey across the country. They frequently had to get off buses to avoid shakedowns at government checkpoints, slowing their pace.

The vast majority of Cubans reach the U.S. by flying to Nicaragua as tourists and make their way to the U.S. border with Mexico. Perez said they trade information “like ants” about which routes are safest and easiest, which is why he picked Yuma.

Nelliy Jimenez, 50, said she rode horses on her three-month journey through Mexico to avoid shakedowns at government checkpoints. Her son, whom she described as an active dissident, fled to Spain years ago. She held out in Cuba despite links to her son — even getting jailed during the July 2021 protests — but held out until economic desperation forced her to sell her convenience store in the city of Cienfuegos to finance her trip to the United States.

She hopes to settle with relatives in Nebraska.

“I did not see this coming,” Jimenez said of the new limits on asylum.

Niurka Avila, 53, said the Cuban government surveils her and her husband, who are known dissidents. She spoke with disgust of Cuban officials, saying she couldn’t bring herself to wear traditional guayabera dress because they do. They “appropriated” it, she said.

Avila, a nurse in Cuba, said that Mexico was not an attractive option and that she and her husband hope to join family in Florida.

“(Mexico) is a violent place, and our family is here,” she said.

The new rules expand on an existing effort to stop Venezuelans attempting to enter the U.S., which began in October and led to a dramatic drop in Venezuelans coming to the southern border. Together, they represent a major change to immigration rules that will stand even if the Supreme Court ends a Trump-era public health law that allows U.S. authorities to turn away asylum-seekers.

“Do not, do not just show up at the border,” Biden said as he announced the changes, even as he acknowledged the hardships that lead many families to make the dangerous journey north.

“Stay where you are and apply legally from there,” he advised.

Biden made the announcement just days before a planned visit to El Paso, Texas, on Sunday for his first trip to the southern border as president. From there, he will travel on to Mexico City to meet with North American leaders on Monday and Tuesday.

At the U.S.-Mexico border, migrants have been denied a chance to seek asylum 2.5 million times since March 2020 under Title 42 restrictions, introduced as an emergency health measure by former President Donald Trump to prevent the spread of COVID-19. But there always has been criticism that the restrictions were used as a pretext by the Republican to seal off the border.

Biden moved to end the Title 42 restrictions, and Republicans sued to keep them. The U.S. Supreme Court has kept the rules in place for now. White House officials say they still believe the restrictions should end, but they maintain they can continue to turn away migrants under immigration law.

On Friday, spokesperson Boris Cheshirkov of UNHCR, the U.N. refugee agency, welcomed the expansion of safe and regular pathways that will now be available to an “unprecedented number” of people trying to enter the United States, but said the agency also wants more details about how the new process will be implemented.

"These are quite significant and multifaceted announcements,” he told reporters in Geneva at a regular U.N. briefing. “We’re analyzing what has been announced and especially the impact that these measures may have — including on the situation and the thousands of people that are already on the move.”

Cheshirkov reiterated the U.N. agency's long-running concerns about the use of Title 42 because of the risk that many people may get sent back to Mexico “without considerations of the dangers that they fled and the risks and hardships that many of them may then face.”

“What we’re reiterating is that this is not in line with the refugee law standards,” he added. “Seeking asylum is a fundamental human right.”

___

Contributing to this report were Associated Press writers Jamey Keaten in Geneva; Colleen Long, Zeke Miller and Rebecca Santana in Washington; and Gisela Salomon in Miami.

Biden finally stops looking the other way on Cuban, Haitian and Nicaraguan immigration | Opinion


Denise DePasquale/Special to the Miami Herald

Fabiola Santiago
Fri, January 6, 2023 

President Biden, apparently, isn’t out to lunch on immigration anymore.

When the fragile ecosystem of Dry Tortugas, a national park off Florida’s coast, becomes a port of entry for hundreds of Cubans sailing rickety homemade boats, the time to act was yesterday.

So, with a quarreling, do-nothing Congress as a backdrop — and an unrelenting number of asylum seekers arriving every day — the Biden administration finally has taken serious steps to address unrestricted immigration to South Florida and the Mexico border.

Months of record-breaking arrivals later, even Democrats are conceding, privately and publicly, that free-for-all Cuban, Haitian, Nicaraguan and Venezuelan immigration is impossible to sustain, both politically and in terms of resources.

Some Dems praise Biden’s mix of new, legal open doors with his crackdown on arrivals aided by illegal activity.

“The new border actions Biden rolled out expand legal pathways while also putting into effect deterrents for illegal immigration and the smuggling and human trafficking that have existed,” said Felice Gorordo, a Biden ally, CEO of tech-hub eMerge Americas and co-founder of the U.S.-Cuba relations nonprofit Roots of Hope.

However, prominent Democrats including Sens. Bob Menéndez of New Jersey, Ben Ray Luján of New Mexico, Alex Padilla of California, and Cory Booker of New Jersey think stricter rules will encourage more shady dealings, not stem migration.

In a joint statement, they condemned what they called “a transit ban” at the southern border and the extension of ex-President Trump’s loathed Title 42 pandemic-era summary expulsions to include Cubans and Nicaraguans.

Indeed, the rules pose a profound shift politically. No more Biden looking the other way.

READ MORE: U.S. will step up expulsions of Cubans, Haitians and Nicaraguans at the border, expand legal pathway

‘Carrot & stick’ policy

Immigrant advocates also rejected new policies that will end up turning away asylum seekers despite the creation of legal and safer pathways. Legal entry will include documentation and two-year work permits for the 30,000 vetted and paroled each month.

But, says the immigration advocacy group America’s Voice, Biden’s “carrot and stick approach” is “unbecoming of a pro-immigration president.”

Yet, without a Congress willing to overhaul of the broken immigration system and Americans increasingly upset over illegal crossings, what other choices did Biden really have?

Republicans constantly use xenophobia to score political points. They’re united in the desire to see Biden fail at everything but, notably, his actions left them speechless. (Though probably not for long).

A White House fact sheet Touted: “Unlike some Republican officials playing political games and obstructing real solutions to fix our broken immigration system, President Biden has a plan and is taking action.”
Voiceless most affected

Unfortunately, the most tragically affected by the change in policy will be people caught en route, risking their lives at sea or on dangerous multi-country treks to flee collapsing homelands like Haiti and failing regimes like Cuba’s and Nicaragua’s.

Will domestic immigration policy make any difference when the root causes of mass migration remain in place at home? When immigration is instigated by regimes like Cuba’s to get rid of the opposition and repress with more impunity?

Immigration is a profitable venture for the Cuban and Venezuelan dictatorships, and crucial support to gang-ruled Haiti. Cubans who leave ended up supporting relatives, according to estimates, to the tune of $2 billion to 3 billion in remittances during pre-pandemic years.

No Mariel comparison

No doubt, the unprecedented number of Cuban migrants in the Florida Keys finally catapulted border issues to the top of Biden’s priority list. Only a few days ago, the president walked away from a reporter asking about a crisis many see as another Mariel.

But forget allusions to the Mariel boatlift of 1980 under President Jimmy Carter.

The comparison sheds little light on the current Cuban immigration crisis testing the Biden administration’s election-time commitment to operate a humane, legal immigration system accessible to asylum seekers — and one that, on the other hand, doesn’t make a mockery of the nation’s borders.

This Cuban exodus has broken all-time records and continues into 2023 despite deaths and disappearances at sea.

Some 125,000 Cubans arrived in South Florida shores in a period five months during Mariel, then it all ended as suddenly as it started. Back then, Haitians, too, were fleeing the Duvalier regime, but not in huge, visible numbers.

This exodus has been open-ended for years. During the last year alone, 2% of Cuba’s 11 million population has fled, most of them to the United States.

Cubans with resources fly to a third country, cross into Mexico and ask for asylum at the border. Cubans with nothing but homemade, barely floating vessels had, perhaps until now, no other option than to risk it all in the treacherous Florida Straits.

READ MORE: We mark another Thanksgiving in South Florida with modern-day pilgrims dying at sea

There’s less of an incentive to come here illegally with the opening of legal avenues.

But poor people from remote towns and provinces may not have the access, nor the ability to articulate need — and surely they will be first in line for expulsion under Biden’s repatriation rules.

It’ll be hard to change what has been working for them. What do they have to lose trying besides their lives? Now, a five-year ban from trying again.

Most of the people arriving are young, driven by guts, hope and dreams of a better future. This is the exodus of “los primos,” the cousins, someone with his ear to the ground tells me.

When constant blackouts spoil what little food they hustle for their family, when the thought police constantly accosts, it’s impossible not to see migration as the only option.

It’s a never-ending story, an unbearable reality no Republican or Democratic rainmaker in Washington can change.

What you need to know about the new program for migrants from Cuba, Haiti and Nicaragua

Jacqueline Charles
Thu, January 5, 2023 

The Biden administration announced Thursday it will sharply step up the expulsion of migrants from Cuba, Nicaragua and Haiti who show up illegally at the U.S.-Mexico border. The administration also unveiled a new program to allow as many as 30,000 migrants from those countries to live and work in the U.S.

If they want to immigrate legally, migrants from the three countries — as well as Venezuelans, for whom there’s been a similar program in place since October — need to have an eligible sponsor in the United States willing to provide financial and other support. Both the migrants and their sponsors will need to pass background checks.

For now, a totally online process via a Customs and Border Patrol app will allow migrants to schedule a time to come to a port of entry in the U.S. to seek an exception from being deported back to Mexico or to their home country under the Title 42 public health regulation.

Venezuelan migrants wait for assistance outside of the Mexican Commission for Refugee Aid in Mexico City, Thursday, Oct. 20, 2022. This group of migrants interrupted their trek in Mexico City after the U.S. announced that Venezuelans who walk or swim across the border will be immediately returned to Mexico without the right to seek asylum.

The Department of Homeland Security said it will publish a new rule that will require migrants who are on their way to the U.S. to first apply for asylum in a third country before reaching the U.S. border. Anyone who fails to do so would be barred from seeking asylum in the U.S. (Immigration advocates have criticized the proposal, saying that it is similar to former President Donald Trump’s “transit ban” for immigrants, which was blocked by a federal appeals court in 2020.)


Migrants who arrive at the U.S.-Mexico border, or at Florida’s coast, without getting advanced authorization face being expelled back to their countries or Mexico.

It is unclear how Cubans who arrive by boat in the Florida Keys would be expelled absent an accord with the Cuban government to take migrants back. For now, Cubans are being issued an “expedited order of removal,” which advocates say is “irregular” because it means the migrants did not have the opportunity to show they have a credible fear of persecution if they are returned to Cuba.

Haitians who arrive in the Florida Keys and the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico have also been returned to Haiti if they did not touch land. Those who have jumped off boats have been processed into the U.S., but it is still unclear how the new policy will affect them should they make it to land, like a recent boatload did on Tuesday in Key Largo.

Here’s what you need to know about the new measures:

How a migrant can apply to enter the U.S.

Migrants will need to download the free CBP One mobile application to schedule appointments to present themselves at a port of entry to facilitate their safe and orderly arrival. The CBP One application is available in the Apple and Google App Stores as well as at https://www.cbp.gov/about/mobile-apps-directory/cbpone.

Does a migrant need to be at the border to schedule an appointment?

No. The CBP One mobile app’s access has been expanded into Central Mexico in order to discourage migrants from congregating near the U.S.-Mexico border in unsafe conditions.

What is the process after applying?

Through the online process, individuals seeking advance authorization to travel to the U.S. will be considered on a case-by-case basis for a temporary grant of parole for up to two years, including employment authorization.

What are the requirements for a migrant to be considered?

All applicants must pass rigorous biometric and biographic national security and public safety screening and vetting; have a supporter in the U.S. who commits to providing financial and other support, and complete vaccination and other public health requirements.

How soon can someone apply to support a migrant?

Starting Friday, potential supporters can apply to Homeland Security to support eligible individuals via www.uscis.gov/CHNV. Individuals and representatives of organizations seeking to apply as supporters must declare their financial support, and they must pass security background checks to protect against exploitation and abuse.

Ports of entry where migrants will need to show up once they have an appointment:

▪ Arizona: Nogales

▪ Texas: Brownsville, Hidalgo, Laredo, Eagle Pass, and El Paso

▪ California: Calexico and San Ysidro

What you need to know about COVID-19:

During the inspection process, migrants must verbally attest to their COVID-19 vaccination status and provide, upon request, proof of vaccination against COVID-19 in accordance with Title 19 vaccination requirements.

A civilian notified Sector Key West watchstanders of this migrant vessel about 40 miles southwest of Key West, Florida, July 8, 2022. They were repatriated to Cuba on July 10.

What happens if a migrant tries to enter the U.S. without authorization?

Individuals will either be returned to Mexico, which has agreed to accept 30,000 individuals a month, or back to their home country.

What about those migrants who cannot be expelled under the Trump-era public health rule known as Title 42, which has been used to quickly expel thousands of Haitians at the southern U.S. border?

They will be deported under another statue known as Title 8 that allows for long-term bans from re-entering the United States. Such migrants, including Haitians arriving at the Florida coast, could find themselves deported at the end of this process after failing to pass so called credible-fear interview with an asylum officer.

What happens if a migrant is removed under Title 8 statue?

The migrant faces a five-year ban on admission to the U.S. and possible criminal charges should they seek to reenter the United States.

If I am currently in Haiti or Cuba can I apply for this parole program today?

No. Only migrants already in transit will be able to apply through the CBP One app.

How else can I raise my hand to sponsor someone from Haiti, Cuba, Nicaragua or Venezuela?

Welcome.US is working to rapidly expand its Welcome Connect tech platform to expand its functionality to go live in late January. Americans interested in sponsoring newcomers from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua or Venezuelans can sign up now at Welcome.US to be added to the platform as soon as it is ready. The platform currently facilitates connections between potential sponsors in the U.S. and displaced Ukrainians.

A guide to the common types of visas that allow foreign workers into the U.S.


Rich Sugg/rsugg@kcstar.com

Dalia Faheid
Sat, January 7, 2023


In Texas, immigrants comprise 17% of the population, but 22% of the state’s workforce, the latest data says.

Immigrants who do come to the U.S. to work have a number of different visa options. This guide will explain the most common types of work visas and eligibility criteria for each.

The four most common types of work visas are: Temporary Non-Immigrant Visa, Permanent Workers, Student and Exchange Visitors and Temporary Visit for Business.

Temporary Non-Immigrant Visa

These visas are for foreigners looking to work in the U.S. for a fixed period of time. A prospective employer files a petition with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, then the employee applies for a visa prior to coming to the U.S., according to Boundless Immigration. Spouses and family need to file for their own visas prior to coming to the U.S. These visas take 5 to 7 months to process, according to VisaPlace.

These are the most common types of temporary non-immigrant visas, per Boundless Immigration:

H visas: H-1B visas, with a residency cap of three years, are for people who want to work in a specialty occupation and have a college degree or equivalent work experience. To be eligible, you would need a job offer from a U.S. employer for a role that requires specialty knowledge, proof of a bachelor’s degree or equivalent in that field and your employer must show a lack of qualified U.S. applicants for the role. The cap is at 65,000 H-1B visas per fiscal year. It can be extended for a maximum of six years. H-1B visa holders can apply for a green card, but there may be lengthy delays. H-2A and H-2B visas lasting up to a year are for temporary or seasonal workers in an agricultural or non-agricultural setting. H-3 is for those seeking training within the United States.




I visas: These indefinite visas are for members of the press including reporters, film crews and editors from a foreign media outlet.


L visas: These are for people who are temporarily transferring within a company they work at, either at the executive/management level (L-1A, 3 years) or through specialized expertise (L-1B, 1 year). The L-1 visa is granted for an initial period of three years that can be extended up to seven years. L-1A visa holders can file for a green card in the EB-1 category, which speeds up the process so you can get it within a year. L-1B visa holders must complete the Permanent Labor Certification under the EB-2 category, which can take years.


O visas: This visa is for individuals with extraordinary ability or achievement. The three-year visa can be extended in one-year increments.


P visas: These visas are for those who excel in entertainment, athletics or the arts and last for the entirety of an event.


R visas: Religious workers who are members of a religious denomination that holds nonprofit status in the U.S. use this visa. They work either directly for that denomination or an associated nonprofit.


TN NAFTA: Under the North American Free Trade Agreement, qualified Canadian and Mexican citizens can seek temporary entry into the U.S. for business. Professionals are granted an initial stay of three years with an extension of three years.
Permanent Workers

Every year, people can apply for the 140,000 employment-based green cards available. These usually require an existing offer of employment from an employer who has U.S. Department of Labor certification. Through ETA Form 9089 (Application for Permanent Employment Certification), the employer needs to verify that there are both insufficient workers with this skill set in the U.S. and that hiring does not take a job away from a citizen, per Boundless Immigration. Your employer then files a petition with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Employment-based green cards can take 6 to 33 months for processing, per VisaPlace.

Here are the key types of employment-based green cards:

EB-1: This covers those with “extraordinary ability,” outstanding professors and researchers and multinational executives and managers.


EB-2: These are available to professionals holding an advanced degree, have at least ten years experience in a field, or whose employment is in the national interest of the U.S.


EB-3: EB-3 green cards are for professionals holding a bachelor’s degree as well as workers who have a non-temporary offer of employment from a U.S. employer.


EB-4: This is a specialized category. It encompasses certain religious workers, employees of U.S. foreign service posts, retired employees of international organizations and noncitizen minors who are wards of courts in the U.S.


EB-5: For the Immigrant Investor Program, green cards are available to people who make either an investment of $1.8 million in a new commercial enterprise that employs at least 10 full-time U.S. workers, or $900,000 in a new commercial venture in a targeted employment area that employs at least 10 full-time U.S. workers. Investors and their families are eligible to apply for green cards.

After USCIS approves the petition, it is sent to the National Visa Center, which will assign a case number for the petition. After the application form is completed and fees are paid, you submit the necessary immigrant visa documents, including application forms and civil documents.

Your spouse and children may apply for immigrant visas with you. They must also fill out required application forms, obtain required civil documents, pay the required fees and undergo medical examinations.
Student and Exchange Visitors

Academic students, vocational students and exchange students can apply for this visa. Many of those who obtain a student visa have the chance to adjust their status to a green card.

F visas: These are for students enrolled at accredited academic institutions. Students can work as long as they’re studying. They cannot work off-campus during the first year. F-2 visas are for the family of the student, including their spouse and children. F-3 visas are for Canadian or Mexican students who commute.


M visas: These are available for students at vocational or other recognized nonacademic institutions. M-2 visas are available for the family of the student, including their spouse and children. M-3 visas are for Canadian or Mexican students who commute.


J visas: J visas are for exchange visitors involved in work- and study-based programs, like au pairs, camp counselors, trainees and interns. Programs must promote cultural exchange and applicants must meet eligibility criteria, including English language proficiency. J-2 visas are for dependents.
Temporary Visit for Business

For short-term business trips, this visa is utilized. They may be negotiating a contract, attending a convention or settling an estate.

B-1 visas are for those doing limited, short-term business in the U.S. They’re usually given for a one- to six-month period, with possible extension of six months. They rarely last longer than a year.

The WB Temporary Business Visitor under Visa Waiver Program allows nationals of 39 countries specified by the State Department to travel to the U.S. for business or tourism without a visa for a period of 90 days or less.
How to adjust temporary status to green card

If you don’t qualify for permanent residency, you can adjust your status in the future. Here’s how to do so, according to VisaPlace:

Determine if you are eligible for a U.S. green card.


File your immigrant petition.


Check visa availability.


File Form I-485.


Attend your biometrics appointment.


Go to your immigration interview, if needed.


Submit additional supporting documents, if needed.