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On Tuesday, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas warned citizens of Cuba and Haiti against coming to the United States amid political unrest in those countries. They said they would be denied or referred to other countries for resettlement.
According to The Washington Post, Mayorkas said migrants shouldn’t attempt to make the journey by sea, warning, “People will die.”
“The time is never right to attempt migration by sea,” Mayorkas said at the U.S. Coast Guard headquarters in Washington.
“Allow me to be clear; if you take to the sea, you will not come to the United States,” he added.
Officials have caught 313 Haitian migrants so far this fiscal year, which began in October.
Mayorkas also mentioned that the Department of Homeland Security has been monitoring maritime migration and noticed an increase that they intend on intercepting before it becomes a public health threat with the COVID pandemic still around.
Migrants found at sea will be sent back on government ships to their homelands unless they have a “well-founded fear of persecution or torture,” Mayorkas said.
“They will not enter the United States,” he continued.
The assassination of Haiti’s President Jovenel Moïse has created turmoil and anguish amongst the nation’s citizens. The country’s future is uncertain, and there has been a rise in gang and police violence.
CNBC reported that when the news of Moise’s death was announced to the world, President Joe Biden was saddened and offered a message of condolences.
Biden said he was “shocked and saddened to hear of the horrific assassination” and condemned the assassination as a “heinous act.”
“The United States offers condolences to the people of Haiti, and we stand ready to assist as we continue to work for a safe and secure Haiti,” Biden said in a statement.
Related Story: Jovenel Moise, President of Haiti, Assassinated
According to Just Security, Biden’s administration has
reportedly backed Moise and viewed him as the only person in the position of bringing democracy and long-overdue elections to Haiti.Furthermore, the United State’s support for him stood even after Moïse overstayed his constitutional mandate, which was supposed to end in February.
Haitian citizens are urging the Biden administration to change its foreign policy towards Haiti so that the citizens can decide the country’s future, implement democracy, and guarantee citizens can have fundamental human rights.