U.S COMMITTEE FOR REFUGEES AND IMMIGRANTS
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USCRI Condemns Xenophobic Attacks Against Haitians

September 23, 2024

The U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI) is alarmed by the recent escalation in xenophobic and racist narratives about Haitian asylum seekers and refugees.

Recently, the Springfield School District was forced to evacuate students after receiving bomb threats aimed at Haitian immigrants living in the city. This situation is emblematic of a broader escalation in violent discourse directed at Haitian and other immigrant communities.

For too long, immigrants have been the subject of vile and exclusionary rhetoric. We have often neglected our promise to welcome them. In the 1800s, Chinese immigrants were excluded from legal immigration pathways. In the early 20th century, Eastern European, Italian, and Jewish communities faced discrimination. During World War II, Japanese communities were interned. Arab communities in the United States have often found themselves subject to racialized threats of violence. Recent events targeting Haitians are the latest manifestation of this legacy.

Words incite racially motivated and xenophobic attacks. These attacks affect not only their direct victims but condemn Black, Brown, and other immigrant communities to a constant state of fear.

Hateful speech breeds its own violence. Immigrant communities do not see themselves or the vibrancy of their cultures and communities represented in this language. They are burdened with having to personally address hurtful stereotypes in their daily lives.

The recent escalation in xenophobia is rooted in a long history of anti-Black immigration policies against Haitians. In the 1980s, false claims that Haitian asylum seekers sacrificed other passengers on their journey to the United States fed into stringent and inhumane immigration policies that targeted Haitian asylum seekers.

In the 1990s, the U.S. held more than 12,000 Haitians at Guantanamo. This policy became an early blueprint for criminalizing immigration. Recent examples, from the United Kingdom’s Rwanda policy to the Australian government’s offshore detention centers, reproduce a racialized refugee system designed to keep out marginalized groups. Despite the acknowledgment that the situation in Haiti is unsafe, the Administration continues to intercept and deport Haitians seeking refuge in the United States.

USCRI stands in solidarity with Haitian immigrants affected by the recent wave of racist and xenophobic rhetoric directed at them. Immigrants bring valuable economic and cultural diversity to our communities.

“We believe that everyone seeking safety in the United States deserves to be welcomed and treated equally, not bullied, ridiculed, or dehumanized,” said USCRI President and CEO Eskinder Negash. “After all, we are a country of immigrants and refugees, and we still believe in our national motto, E Pluribus Unum (‘Out of many, one’).”

 

USCRI, founded in 1911, is a non-governmental, not-for-profit international organization committed to working on behalf of refugees and immigrants and their transition to a dignified life.

For press inquiries, please contact: [email protected]

 


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