(Photo: Jacob Garcia/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
By Carmo Moniz
This story was originally published on New York University’s Washington Square News.
NYU’s Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies discussed an ongoing surge of Haitian migration at the U.S. southern border at a Nov. 22 event. The teach-in session, called Haitian Migration Beyond The News Cycle, focused on the United States’ historically racist treatment of Haitian immigrants, current U.S. policies towards Haiti, and the root of the current crisis.
The panelists included Gabrielle Apollon, co-director of the Haiti Justice and International Accountability Project at NYU Law’s Global Justice Clinic, along with Haitian development specialist Emmanuela Douyon, journalist Ralph Thomassaint Joseph, and Haitian Creole Language Institute founder Wynnie Lamour.
Douyon said that American immigration policy has not kept up with the changing Haitian political landscape.
“It’s like they are treating Haiti as the country they knew from years ago,” Douyon said. “Haiti is changing. It’s evolving, and the U.S. needs to understand that and show more ambition and see Haiti as a partner — not only as a place where refugees are coming from that they need to deal with.”
Read the rest of the story at Washington Square News.