Mica Rosenberg, Gessika Tom

PORTAU-AU-PRINCE, (Reuters) – Alie Sajous & Macdalla Renos fled Haiti in search of a better life in South America years ago. But they were unsuccessful. Both embarked on an arduous journey across a dozen countries this summer to find a better life in America.

Renois, who was pregnant at the time she began trekking through jungle between Panama and Colombia for several days, was very tired. Sajous’ family also crossed this dangerous stretch and Renois had to stay in hospital for several days.

The women arrived at the U.S./Mexico border in separate vehicles. Mid-September saw them cross the Rio Grande – Renois holding their weeks-old baby, which had been delivered on the border with Mexico. They were joining thousands of mostly Haitian migrants at a camp set up under a bridge near Del Rio in Texas.

Their fates dramatically diverged after several nights of sleeping outdoors in the scorching heat.

Renois, her husband Oberto, 40 and their child were put on board a plane by U.S. Immigration officials. The flight took them to Haiti, which is a country that has been in serious political and violence crises.

Renois stated that she did not have the opportunity to speak to border agents and she fears being returned to Haiti. She was effectively denied asylum rights under U.S. or international law. She claimed that she had been cuffed with her feet, and that a chain was tied around her waist. This made it hard to hold her baby on her return flight to Haiti.

“I don’t steal and I’m not a criminal. “It is the first time I have been held in this way in my entire life,” she stated.

Sajous, her husband and their daughter were also freed by U.S. Immigration officials. She can now settle in America if she wins an immigration court case. But she pointed out that the U.S. had never asked her whether she desired asylum, or if it was a concern to return to Haiti.

She stated, “They never asked for anything from me,”

The interview with Reuters revealed that the women were among the more than a dozen migrants who were interviewed. They said they had not been given any explanations as to why their asylum was denied or they were allowed to remain in America after the U.S. government dismantled the camp.

According to a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, some immigrants were allowed to remain in the United States due “acute vulnerability” and “if operational capability requires.” DHS has not responded to requests for information on specific cases, or provided further explanations behind the decision about expulsions.

Two families from Haiti had very different experiences. This is due to the policy of former President Donald Trump that allows border agents to expel migrants quickly without giving them an opportunity to request asylum.

Title 42 was the name of the policy. Although it was supposed to prevent the spread of coronaviruses, migrant advocates claim that Trump used the policy to reduce the number of asylum-seekers. President Joe Biden mostly continues to use the policy since January.

Reuters spoke with Haitian migrants from Haiti who said they had received inconsistent COVID-19 tests at the border. Others were expelled because they claimed that the test was not done in America. U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokesperson said that anyone with signs of illness while in custody will be referred to the local health system for proper testing, diagnosis and treatment.

The fates of these two women mirror those of many others.

7.016 Haitians were expelled from their border by DHS air between Sept. 19th and Oct. 3. The DHS expelled approximately 3460 Haitians with their children, which is about half of the total.

September 27, 2009: 10,000 Haitians were allowed to enter the United States in order to file their immigration case in court.

Apart from the Haitians and hundreds of thousands of Central American migrants who have fled to Mexico, since March 2020’s inception of Title 42, Biden has exempted minors unaccompanied, as well as released some Central American families to the United States.

(A graphic on migrant camps: https://graphics.reuters.com/USA-IMMIGRATION/MEXICO/mopankddwva/index.html)

Clara Long, associate director of Human Rights Watch said: “It is all so arbitrarious.”

SIMILAR JOURNEYS

Both women would eventually be sent to Florida in relative safety, with the one remaining behind in Haiti.

Renois was born in August at a border hospital with Guatemala near Mexico. The new couple took three days to travel by bus from Del Rio, Texas, to Rio Grande, where they still suffered from the C-section. Renois was holding Destinoble in one hand, Angelina in the other as they made their way to the United States.

Both knew nothing about swimming and Renois fell on her knees, causing her to lose control of her infant in the water.

She stated, “That was probably the most difficult moment in my whole life.”

On the same day that U.S. Border Patrol horses charged towards Haitian migrants, Destinoble was standing on the Rio Grande banks. Biden called the event “horrible,” and “outrageous” after it was captured on both video and photos.

Destinoble, a former security guard and mechanic, said that he fled Haiti in 2019, after being recruited by a gangster.

After he moved to Chile, he found work in the fruit and vegetable fields. But despite his success, he was unable to find a job. They borrowed money from their relatives, and they saved $10,000 to travel north.

They said that they didn’t expect to be sent to Haiti, but now want to obtain a Mexican passport to Angelina (who has a Mexican birth record). They plan to return once they have that passport, they stated, with the hope of settling down in Mexico.

NEW LIFE

Sajous, 29 years old, said she fled Haiti to escape an attempted kidnapping. To help her travel to Chile, where she was granted a tourist visa, her mother paid around $4,000 The woman didn’t know any one and was unsuccessful in finding work until Marcus, her husband found work as a contractor.

The couple saved $11,000 by the end of the summer to pay for the trip to the United States. Zarah, Zarah’s two-year old daughter, traveled with them by plane and bus through Bolivia, Peru and Ecuador. They walked eight days through the Darien Gap rainforest area from Panama to Panama, sometimes without food.

Zarah was hospitalized in Costa Rica with a severe bacterial infection. The couple then traveled through Central America, stopping in Mexico for one month.

After arriving at the U.S. Mexico border, the family slept under the bridge for several nights until they were moved to a Border Patrol facility.

They were informed that they would be released one day. A Florida cousin bought them the tickets. They were instructed to visit U.S. Immigration authorities and given a GPS-linked cellphone.

The daunting task of navigating through the U.S. Immigration Court system, without an experienced lawyer helping them to pursue an asylum request or obtain work permits is difficult.

In many cases, if a migrant is found “firmly resettled in another country” before they arrive in the United States, then they may not be eligible to receive U.S. Protection. A case can take up to a year, and it is not easy to present a case at immigration court.

Sajous expressed concern about the future.