At the time, Brazil promised ample construction jobs ahead of the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Summer Olympics. South America: Formation of Brazilian and Chilean Diasporasįollowing the 2010 earthquake, Haitians migrated to a number of countries, chief among them Brazil, where an estimated 85,000 arrived between 20. Sources: Migration Policy Institute (MPI) tabulation of data from the United Nations, “Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division, International Migrant Stock 2020: Destination” and “Origin, Table 1: International Migrant Stock at Mid-Year by Sex and by Region, Country or Area of Destination and Origin,” available online data for Brazil from Santiago Torrado, Rocío Montes, Lorena Arroyo, Carla Jiménez, and Jorge Galindo, “The Silent Exodus of Latin America’s Haitian Population,” El País, August 11, 2021, available online. Note: French Guiana and Guadeloupe are overseas territories of France but are classified separately for the purposes of UN population estimates. Top Countries of Residence for Haitian Migrants, 2020 While often overlooked, emigration out of Haiti is one of the largest flows in the Western hemisphere (see Table 1). Mexico has also become a destination for Haitian migrants, though UN Population Division estimates suggest only around 6,000 were residents as of 2020. Finally, large Haitian diasporas abroad are also a draw for emigrants.Īs a result, Haitians have increasingly looked to move to countries including the United States, Chile, and Brazil. Moreover, Haitians also migrate for economic reasons, given that Haiti has the Western hemisphere’s lowest gross domestic product (GDP) per capita. Insecurity is rampant due to gangs and state-sanctioned violence. Beyond the vast number of Haitians who died or lost their homes in the 2010 earthquake, tens of thousands more were displaced by Hurricane Matthew in 2016. Migration from Haiti has been driven by multiple factors, including political and human-rights violations dating back at least to the Duvalier dictatorships of the 20th century. Being both predominantly French Creole-speaking and Black, Haitians tend to face obstacles over and above their status as migrants, which has repeatedly resulted in exclusion from certain types of legal protections and frequent targeting for discrimination by state officials and locals alike. This article chronicles Haitian migration through the hemisphere over the last decade, including the particular challenges that Haitians have faced in the region. envoy to Haiti resigned in protest of the expulsions, which he described as “inhumane” and “counterproductive.” The August 2021 earthquake and tropical storm led to the deaths of at least 2,200 people in western Haiti and an estimated 980,000 experiencing food insecurity. officials under a public-health provision preventing access to asylum. The journey has resulted in dashed hopes and heartbreak for the approximately 5,400 Haitians who, as of September 30, were returned to their origin country by U.S. Propelled by these push and pull factors, thousands of other Haitians in South America appear to be poised to undertake the arduous, often dangerous journey to reach the United States. The relaxation of COVID-19-related border restrictions has eased their path northward in 2021, and the election of President Joe Biden may have led to some perceptions that migrants would be permitted to enter the United States. Many of these migrants first attempted to settle in Brazil, then Chile, then went to countries farther north, as local conditions changed and grew increasingly inhospitable. They are, instead, part of a generation of Haitians who have migrated since their country’s devastating 2010 earthquake, which caused more than 217,000 deaths and left more than 1.5 million homeless. border were not fleeing these recent challenges. In many cases, the migrants forcibly returned to Haiti had not been to their native country in years.Īlthough Haiti has seen significant political crises and natural disasters in 2021-including the July assassination of President Jovenel Moïse and, in August, a 7.2 magnitude earthquake followed days later by Tropical Storm Grace-most Haitians who reached the U.S. As dramatic and desperate as the scenes at the border were, this migration was years in the making and follows a long path that Haitians have been forging through South and Central America for more than a decade. and Mexican authorities, with many later permitted entry into the United States, others put on expulsion flights to Haiti, and some others returning to southern Mexico. The thousands of Haitian migrants who reached the Texas-Mexico border in September were met with stiff opposition from U.S. Editor's Note: This article was updated on to correct that Jovenel Moïse was president at the time of his assassination.
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