Early in the Trump administration, the Department of Homeland Security removed the country of Haiti from its list of countries eigible to participate in the H-2A and H-2B nonimmigrant worker programs, which cover temporary agricultural and seasonal non-agricultural jobs. DHS at the time found that Haitian nationals “have historically demonstrated high levels of fraud and abuse and a high rate of overstaying the terms of their H-2 admission.” As a consequence of the Haitian government’s having shown no improvement in those areas, the Department decided that including Haiti on the H-2A and H-2B lists was no longer in the U.S. interest.
On Wednesday of this week, in a somewhat belated move to undo all things Trump, the Biden administration restored Haiti to those lists. A notice published by Homeland Security admitted that while the overstays, etc, “remain a concern,” the Haitian government had been obliging in accepting a few thousand of its nationals (along with a few million U.S. dollars to pay for them) after the debacle in Del Rio in September. It therefore had earned the right to be re-admitted.
According to the DHS, such re-admittance “serves the U.S. interest and is consistent with the whole-of-government efforts to address the root causes of irregular migration and create lawful pathways for a safe, orderly, and legal migration.” It would also “provide Haitians the opportunity not only to contribute to the U.S. economy, but also apply their earnings and technical experience to advance Haiti’s reconstruction and stabilization.”
This move follows the government’s decision in May to grant Temporary Protected Status to Haitians, given the human rights abuses occurring in that “valued partner” Haiti.
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