Human Rights Watch urges stronger protections for Haitians fleeing crises

NEW YORK- A global human rights group on Wednesday urged Latin American governments to expand protections for thousands of Haitians and Venezuelans, citing a failure to provide adequate access to work, healthcare, and education in South American countries. Human Rights Watch warned that these gaps are pushing more migrants to make the dangerous journey north in search of asylum in the United States.

“Governments in the Americas should not stand idly by as the crises in Venezuela and Haiti deepen,” said Tirana Hassan, executive director at Human Rights Watch. “They should respect and promote human rights domestically and grant those fleeing meaningful opportunities to obtain protection and remake their lives.”

In a report released Sept. 11, Human Rights Watch highlighted the dire conditions in the Darién Gap, a perilous jungle route that Haïtian migrants cross while fleeing insecurity, economic burden and humanitarian crises.

The report, titled “Darién Gap: The Jungle Where Poor Migration Policies Meet,” identifies significant challenges faced by migrants in regularizing their status and accessing social integration in countries such as Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, and Peru. 

Of the more than 700,000 migrants who have crossed the Darién Gap in the past 18 months, 41,000 were Haitians. The lack of legal pathways often forces them to continue their journey north in search of asylum.

Haiti, which has been grappling with severe political and humanitarian crises, has seen a surge in people leaving the country. With gang violence displacing hundreds of thousands and basic services collapsing, migrants like those from Haiti face immense barriers to accessing asylum in the region.

“The worsening crisis in Haiti and Venezuela means governments in the Americas, including the United States, need to step up their response,” Hassan urged, stressing the importance of creating a regional response that provides Haitians and other migrants with temporary protection and integration opportunities.

Despite some local initiatives to receive migrants, Human Rights Watch criticized the lack of comprehensive policies that would offer Haitians proper legal status and access to employment, education, and healthcare, warning that continued inaction would force more to risk the hazardous crossing through the Darién Gap.

In response to these challenges, Haitians are looking to the United States for legal pathways that provide a safer alternative to the South American countries. While local protections in these countries remain limited, the United States. has introduced programs aimed at offering Haitians legal status and better opportunities for integration. 

Haitians are eligible for the U.S. Humanitarian Parole Program, also known as the Biden Program, which allows individuals from Haiti, Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela to enter the U.S. for urgent humanitarian reasons. Once approved, recipients must arrange their travel to the United States.

Some Haïtians are also eligible for ‘Keeping Families Together’, a program aimed at granting legal status to undocumented immigrants married to U.S. citizens. It offers a streamlined path to permanent residency and temporary work permits before it was halted in June.

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