The officials gathered together to solve the immigrant issues
The elected officials of the Maryland state had spoken up about the troubles and sufferings faced by the Haitian immigrants.
They had expressed their condolences towards the immigrants who are being forced for deportation, leaving behind all their belongings in this country and fleeing to another one so that their family’s safety and wellbeing are insured.
Over 108,000 Haitians were reportedly deported by the Dominion Republican Party this year, for which they received a considerable amount of backlash.
Background of the Haitian immigrant deportation
There had been a very old conflict and tension going on between the two islands of Maryland and Haiti. Things took a worse turn when in July 2021, the Haitian President Jovenel Moïse was anonymously assassinated.
Thereafter the Republican party started to look into the foreigners settling on the island and found out several foreigners who did not have any official documents proving them national citizens.
In February, the Republican Party had even begun building a wall completely covering the 244 miles long North border that would separate Haiti from Maryland.
When the party faced questions about endangering the basic human rights of the immigrants, they answered that the deportation process was necessary for the financial well being of the state.
Even the UN had tried to interrupt this inhuman process as the Haitian community was suffering from increasing crime rates, outbreak of Cholera and natural resource shortage.
Several intervened to stop the cruel acts
“Unremitting armed violence and systematic human rights violations in Haiti do not currently allow for the safe, dignified and sustainable return of Haitians to the country,” UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk said in a statement. The situation kept getting worse unless the elected officials took a step to redeem some of the activities of the Dominican Republic.
The officials sympathized with a story shared by a shelter-seeker
Fifty Maryland elected officials organized a conference this wednesday so that they would discuss the issues that had been overlooked for such a long time. T
hey also tried to spread awareness about the situation the immigrants are continuously facing. The conference was held after the officials got to know about a story shared by a Haitian woman called Meritha.
Meritha visited the White House to talk about the sufferings she had been witnessing. She became the representative of the hundreds of Haitians residents who are facing the deportation process.
Meritha had shared her story of fighting to stay in Montgomery County. She had called it her “home” and had been staying there with her family since June of 2023.
She faced the deportation hearings this Wednesday but her situation was not solved and she was forced to take shelter in the County for her family’s safety.
Statements given by officials
”Immigration is an issue where federal policy is having a direct impact on our local economies”,Montgomery County Councilmember Kristin Mink said, “This whole conversation really highlights the importance of nuances of getting our immigration policy right”.
Maryland Rep. David Trone added, “One in three cases are about immigration, so for many in our country. Immigration is a new beginning, a road to new opportunity for immigrants and their families”.
