SPRINGFIELD — Lawyers representing Haitians who are at risk of losing their Temporary Protected Status (TPS) have filed new documents outlining their support for the stay.
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As News Center 7 previously reported, a federal judge denied the Trump administration’s latest appeal to end Haitian immigrants’ Temporary Protected Status.
Attorneys for the Haitians at risk of losing their TPS submitted a memorandum in support of the stay on Monday.
As reported on News Center 7 at 6:00, the filing outlines the risks migrants reportedly face returning to Haiti.
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Attorneys referenced an article in the Washington Post that describes the country as a “maelstrom of disease, poverty, violence (including sexual violence) and death.”
Court documents state that criminal groups in Haiti have intensified attacks on the population and infrastructure, paralyzing much of the nation and creating one of the most dire humanitarian situations in the world.
On Feb. 4, news outlets reported that the bodies of four Haitian women who were deported from the United States several months earlier were found decapitated and dumped in a river.
“The risk of death is not speculative. Just two weeks ago, the bodies of four Haitian women deported from the U.S. several months earlier were found decapitated and dumped in a river,” the lawyers stated.
News Center 7’s Malik Patterson talked to Haitian Community Help & Support Center President Viles Dorsainvil about the filing.
“The hoodlums in Haiti are merciless,” Dorsainvil said.
He said Haitian immigrants are extremely fearful of going back.
“When they kidnap a person, you are exposed to torture, and you can even be killed. So that’s the reality in Haiti,” Dorsainvil said.
He added that they want to return to their home country.
“It’s not a question that we don’t want to go back to Haiti. Haiti is our country,” he said. “We don’t have any problem going back there, but at least there should be a level of peace and security that would allow us to go back to our country.”
The government has until Thursday to submit a reply in support of its motion.
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