Clergy call for U.S. to give Haitians Space to Form Unity Government

Washington, DC—Haiti‘s new Transitional Council has issued its first public statement, a sign of hope for the Haitian people. Today, more than 200 religious leaders sent a letter to President Biden, Vice President Harris, and DHS Secretary Mayorkas, asking the White House not to repeat past mistakes of trying to anoint leaders or impose conditions on the process of creating a legitimate unity government to lead Haiti out of crisis. Clergy also called on DHS to extend and redesignate Haiti for Temporary Protected Status and halt all deportation flights to Haiti.

“The U.S. needs to engage without dictating, support without setting conditions. Above all, the international community must break with the elites who have colluded with gangs to run Haiti into the ground,” said Rev. Dieufort J. Fleurissaint of Haitian Americans United in Boston, Massachusetts, “Military intervention without ending U.S. support for corrupt elites who have put their interests ahead of the Haitian people will not bring security to Haiti. Foreign forces cannot solve Haiti’s political crisis. Only Haitians can. In Haiti, as in other parts of the world, peace can only come from addressing the underlying causes of violence.”

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