US response to Haitian climate ‘refugees'
On 7 Oct, 2021, the Caribbean country, Haiti, was hit by a 7.2 magnitude earthquake. The earthquake affected 800,000 people and 650,000 of those people needed emergency humanitarian assistance according, to the UN System in Haiti. This natural disaster, coupled with political instability, caused a mass emigration of people from Haiti to South and Latin American, in search for refuge and political stability. Many of these migrants made their way to the Mexico-Texas border, where they were met with violence and discrimination from US Border Control, and many of the migrants that were seeking political and climate refuge were turned away from the salvation of the United States. Instead, they were sent back to different countries in Latin America. Not only does this highlight a moral flaw within the United States’ border management and control but it also shows the different treatment that climate ‘refugees’ are receiving from the United States compared to political violence refugees from countries such as Afghanistan.
Due to Haiti’s geographical isolation, Haitian migrants seeking refuge take a long and complicated path towards attempted salvation. The majority of Haitian refugees will fly from Haiti to Ecuador as this does not require a visa. They will then attempt to find work in countries such as Brazil or Chile, or continue a dangerous path north towards Mexico, in which they will have to cross the jungles of Darien Gap which is no easy feat. The route they take is significant as it makes Haitian refugees the first wave of climate ‘refugees’ from South and Central America. It reflects a wider prospective trend in which more and more people will be displaced within the Western hemisphere, due to natural disasters related to climate change.
The treatment of Haitian climate ‘refugees; on the US-Mexico border could signify a larger humanitarian issue in the coming years. The rejection of the Haitian migrants could potentially be revealing a gap in the Biden administrations plan for addressing climate change and migration. Additionally, it could be foreshadowing the treatment that such migrants will receive from the Biden administration and future administrations. While the process of gaining refugee status is an uphill battle for any migrant, climate change ‘refugees’ are currently not recognised under international refugee law. Consequently, it is easier for states to dismiss and expel those seeking refuge from the places that have been hit the hardest by climate change, such as Haiti. The invalidity of climate change ‘refugees’, coupled with new pandemic regulations on migration, has made the process even more difficult than before. The United States introduced a harrowing new health code through the pandemic - Health Code Title 42 - which states that the pandemic is a legitimate reason to clear out the border as rapidly as possible, citing health concerns. This health code sends hopeful migrants’ home without the opportunity to request asylum proceedings. Not only is this morally wrong and against what the United States stands for – opportunity – but the legitimacy of the health code can be questioned, as international law states that every person has the right to seek asylum. International law does not guarantee asylum, but it reinforces that a migrant is able to request it. This then brings into question the United States – and the Biden administration’s – concern for international humanitarian law. If they are comfortable in breaching this fundamental right for displaced persons, what other laws are they willing to break for the sake of politics and political advantage in the United States?
Furthermore, the treatment is drastically different from the treatment that Afghan refugees have received from the Biden Administration. The Biden administration has assisted in the emigration of 70,000 afghans from the Taliban-controlled country. Whilst some may argue that these situations are not comparable because of the United States’ role in the Afghan war and the persecution of certain Afghans in Afghanistan, the situation in Haiti exhibits many similarities. For example, just as Afghanistan is now controlled by the Taliban, most of the capital of Haiti is gang-controlled. Women live in fear of being raped and assaulted, as children live under the threat of being trafficked. Additionally, the United States played a major part in the deterioration of the Caribbean country, which led to it becoming the most impoverished country in the Western hemisphere.
The Biden administration and the wider international community must quickly take action to stop climate change if they will not amend international law to grant refuge to those displaced by natural disasters that are caused or worsened by climate change. It is not too late; the World Bank estimates that decisive collective action could reduce climate migration by as much as 80 percent. This cannot be a moment of hesitation for the international community. They must either accept climate migrants or make decisive action against climate change. Or else, millions will die.
Image courtesy of Makenson Charles and Matiado Vilme/VOA, ©2021, some rights reserved.
