The crowd has swelled ever since President Biden announced the U.S. will accept 30,000 people a month from Haiti, Nicaragua, Cuba and Venezuela.
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — Hundreds of Haitians are flocking daily to the sole immigration office in Port-au-Prince, pressing against the bright blue gate as they strain to hear whether their name is called, hoping they will soon be chosen to live legally in the U.S. under a new immigration plan.
“I’m here to leave Haiti, but I don’t want to risk my life via a boat,” said Jennyfer Leonard, a 30-year-old teacher, referring to how dozens of Haitian migrants smuggled aboard boats have died in recent attempts to reach the U.S. On Wednesday, an aggressive crowd gathered at the immigration officeunder a brutal sun to apply for a passport, pick one up, renew an exisiting one or check on the status of an application.
“Life is really difficult,” said Leonard, the teacher, whose brother is a truck driver in Philadelphia and has agreed to be her financial sponsor. Poverty and hunger are deepening across Haiti, a country or more than 11 million people where more than 60% earn less than $2 a day. Inflation has ballooned into double digits while Haiti grows more politically unstable, with its last democratically elected institution — the Senate — expiring Tuesday.
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