Just a few hours after being sworn in as American President, Donald Trump signed a series of decrees targeting immigration, a key theme of his program. His plans to restrict asylum rights and crackdown on illegal immigration has many worried, especially in Haiti where a deepening crisis has forced many to flee.
On his first day back in office Donald Trump declared a national emergency at the southern border with Mexico "to repel the disastrous invasion of our country," saying he would deploy US troops to tackle illegal immigration.
His administration said it would reinstate a "Remain in Mexico" policy that prevailed under Trump's first presidency, under which people who apply to enter the United States from Mexico must remain there until their application has been decided.
Another of Trump’s moves was to halt the "Humanitarian Parole" program. Under the Joe Biden administration, it was specifically designed for migrants from Haiti, Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela fleeing hardship or persecution in their countries.
Once approved, migrants were allowed to stay in the country for up to two years, get a work permit and be shielded from deportation.
The programme has been credited with helping to reduce the number of unlawful crossings by migrants from those countries particularly at the US-Mexico border.
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Thousands in limbo
Trump also took aim at the "Customs and Border Protection (CBP One)" – an asylum application platform used by migrants to enter the United States.
"Existing appointments have been cancelled," the service said on its website on Monday, leaving thousands of people from different nationalities in limbo.
In the Mexican border town of Ciudad Juarez, Carly Fernandez received an email cancelling her meeting scheduled for February.
"We fought so hard to get here", she told RFI correspondent Gwendolina Duval, "My sister wants to go back, she is tired of everything we endured to get here… for nothing…"
Photographs capture heart-rending journey of migrants trying to reach the US
Since 2023, 531,690 people have been granted humanitarian parole, according to Department of Homeland Security. The majority have come from Haiti.
In Port-au-Prince, the capital of Haiti, locals reacted to the announcements with a mixture of despair and resignation.
Séphora, a student at the University of Haiti, believes that these decrees will harm exiles who are looking for a better life.
"This decision is a real blow to migrants, in particular Haitians who, faced with the difficult situation in their country, are looking for a better life elsewhere," she told RFI’s correspondent Peterson Luxama.
"We cannot say anything: it is his country, and he makes the decisions that he considers to be in the interest of the American people," she says.
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Bedson, a resident in Pétion-Ville in a suburb of Haiti, is also disappointed at the lack of humanity behind the decrees.
"These kinds of decisions are not good for us because the hope of many Haitians is to go to other countries to protect ourselves and help our families. I find that these decisions really hurt," he told RFI.
Castène, for his part, says he is not surprised, because "these decisions were predictable.
"With Donald Trump in power, we couldn't expect better. Just hours after taking office, he eliminated the CBP-One program, which leaves thousands of migrants unable to set foot on American soil," he notes.
"These migrants, who sacrificed everything for a better future, now find themselves without resources or prospects facing an uncertain future."
Massive displacement
Meanwhile, criminal gangs still control some 85 percent of Port-au-Prince, the United Nations estimates, despite the deployment last June of the Kenyan-led Multinational Security Support Mission (MSS) under UN auspices.
Gang violence killed at least 5,601 people in Haiti last year, about a thousand more than in 2023, the UN said. More than a million Haitians have been forced to flee their homes, three times as many as a year ago.
Most of those displaced have flooded out of the capital and sought refuge in Haiti's provinces, overwhelming host communities and straining limited resources.
"Last year alone, 200,000 people were returned to Haiti, to communities that are already struggling to basically survive," United Nations' International Organization for Migration (IOM) spokesman Kennedy Okoth Omondi said.
Port-au-Prince sees 'unprecedented' displacement as gang violence escalates
UN rights chief Volker Turk condemned these deportations saying "the acute insecurity and resulting human rights crisis in the country simply do not allow for the safe, dignified and sustainable return of Haitians".
In a further move aimed at curbing immigration, Donald Trump issued an order eliminating the automatic granting of citizenship to anyone born on US soil, a right guaranteed by the 14th Amendment of the country's constitution.
If implemented, the order would prevent the federal government from issuing passports, citizenship certificates or other documents to children whose mothers are in the country illegally or temporarily, and whose father is not a US citizen or permanent resident.
18 states, including California and New York as well as human rights groups immediately filed a lawsuit to block the order.
(With newswires)
