The U.S. government has intensified its removal operations to Haiti, conducting a flight on Thursday that transported more than 100 individuals to the Caribbean nation. The flight, which originated from a hub for immigration enforcement in Alexandria, Louisiana, made a stop in Miami before landing in the northern city of Cap-Haitien.
According to Nicolas Mardochée, a coordinator with the Haitian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 101 deportees were aboard the aircraft. Among those returned was Renan Hédouville, the former head of Haiti’s Office of Citizen Protection, who faces accusations of corruption. The shift to weekly flights marks a notable increase from the previous monthly schedule, according to data from Human Rights First’s ICE Flight Monitor, which noted that this was the third consecutive Thursday a deportation flight has taken place. In late August, two separate flights had already returned over 200 people to the country.
Deportees are being routed to Cap-Haitien because the primary international airport in Port-au-Prince is currently deemed too dangerous for such operations. The security situation in the capital remains dire, with gangs estimated to control approximately 70% of the city, alongside significant portions of the country’s central region. Data from the United Nations indicates that gang violence has displaced nearly 1.5 million people throughout Haiti, with more than 3,050 deaths reported between January and June of this year.
The policy of returning individuals to the country has drawn sharp criticism from activists. Concerns have been raised regarding the deportation of Haitians who had been living and working legally in the United States under Temporary Protected Status.
