Diplomats from the Embassy of the United States of America met with a group of Haitian journalists who had returned from a reporting trip covering the dangerous realities of illegal and irregular migration to the United States.

During the month of May, five Haitian journalists from several media outlets in Port-au-Prince and the northern region of the country participated in a reporting trip to Miami, Florida, organized at the initiative of the United States Embassy in Haiti.

This briefing tour was organized in partnership with the U.S. Department of State's Office of Western Hemisphere Affairs, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Task Force - Southeast (HSTF-SE), and the U.S. Coast Guard Seventh District. The journalists met with representatives from the U.S. Border Patrol, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine Operations and Office of Field Operations, and the United States Coast Guard. They were briefed on Operation Vigilant Sentry (OVS) which works with the Government of Haiti and the Haitian Immigration Service to safely and humanely rescue and repatriate migrants attempting to reach the Southeast United States by sea.

The journalists met their counterparts from the American press and representatives of NGOs working to assist refugees.

All the interlocutors met by the journalists discouraged Haitians from coming through clandestine means to the United States, explaining the realities of irregular migration and the very real dangers of irregular migration by sea or land. They also explained that US authorities continue to repatriate and deport those who have arrived in the United States without authorization and that illegal entry may disqualify Haitians who would otherwise have benefited from safe and legal migration options, including petition-based visas and the conditional humanitarian immigration program.

During their trip, the journalists had the opportunity to board a Coast Guard aircraft that was on patrol over the Florida Straits and the Caribbean Sea. They observed firsthand and spoke with crews at Coast Guard Air Station Miami about how U.S. authorities safely and humanely intercept overloaded or makeshift boats full of passengers attempting to immigrate irregularly by sea.

In his remarks for the occasion, Eric W. Stromayer, Chargé d'Affaires of the United States in Haiti, declared "We hope that this visit has allowed you to acquire practical information to better understand the new laws and provisions adopted by the United States concerning migration, as well as the mechanisms available to combat dangerous illegal travel".

HL/ HaitiLibre