The Congressional Black Caucus is adamant about having the voice of Black Americans heard by the U.S. president, presenting its lengthy agenda to the Biden administration last week and pledging to meet with White House officials regularly to move the needle on their issues.
Among the various items brought to the forefront by the caucus’ seven-member executive board is the issue of immigration – specifically as it relates to Haitian migrants fleeing to the states and African refugees in Ukraine.
On Monday, approximately 130 Haitian migrants arrived in a makeshift sailboat just off the 700 block of East Shore Drive in Summerland Key, according to a spokesperson from the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office.
Last weekend on March 6, a vessel carrying 356 Haitian migrants was intercepted by U.S. Border Patrol and other agencies in north Key Largo, approximately 300 yards from shore. More than 100 migrants swam to shore and many were in need of medical attention, according to Walter Slosar, a Miami border patrol chief agent. By Friday, 198 migrants had been repatriated by the U.S. Coast Guard.
The arrival of Haitian migrants signals ongoing turmoil in Haiti brought on by increased kidnappings, gender-based violence, political instability, gang violence and a nation still recovering from the 7.2 magnitude earthquake that hit last August.
“This was not a meeting that I went into with the president [thinking he] was going to give [us] solutions for Haiti,” said Frederica S. Wilson, District 24 U.S. congresswoman and a member of the caucus’ executive board. “The main concern is the safety and stability of the Haitian people who are in Haiti [with] no president, no parliament, no Senate, no stable government.”
Wilson, who represents areas with large Haitian American populations in Miami, North Miami and North Miami Beach, says the issue is something that directly impacts her constituents, though other congressional districts may not be as affected.
“There are national issues and then there are local issues that every representative must navigate. This is one of my local issues,” she explained. “We know that we have to find some solution to what’s happening in Haiti … I know that my constituents want a diaspora-led solution and so that’s what we’re trying to work on with the civil society in Haiti and with the diaspora here in the United States.”
