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The Journey of the Haitian Migrants

Since the country’s devastating earthquake in 2010, which killed more than 200,000 people, tens of thousands of Haitians have fled their crisis-burdened homeland, many travelling to parts of South America. Throughout this year many more have fled, joining previous Haitian ex-pats who have not yet found places to settle as well as migrants and asylum seekers from many other countries to make the challenging journey north to the United States border. Individuals and families hoping for new opportunities and a better life have passed through Colombia, entering Panama and traversing Central America. 

Last week there was a huge protest in the Chilean city of Iquique. The anti-immigration protestors clustered around a large fire. The things were being thrown into the fire which belonged to the migrants who lived in the city of Venezuela illegally. The government has been pushing return home policy and pursuing people who are in the country illegally to return home. As per the reports, the Chilean community don’t want immigrants to stay in the city anymore. In extending protections for Haitians, President Joe Biden stated the security concerns and social unrest in the Western Hemisphere’s poorest country. People are fleeing, in response to a pandemic-battered economy, rising anti-immigrant sentiment, and new government policies. Many of the immigrants in Chile have been fleeing the country, including people originally from Haiti, some of whom have wounded up at the U.S. southern border last week only to be deported back to their home country by the Biden administration. But more are on the way. Further, more than 10,000 migrants, many of them Haitians, gathered near Del Rio, Texas. They had set up makeshift camps there on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border. The U.S. Border Patrol, with helicopters buzzing overhead, cleared out the camps on the U.S. side soon. According to the US official reports 4,000 Haitians were sent back to Haiti from the Texas border in the past few weeks. Flights have been taking back the Haitians from the United States back to the country.