Haitian Deportations Suspended Following Earthquake
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and the Obama administration have temporarily suspended deportations of illegal immigrants from Haiti.
This is of course because of the devastating damage from the earthquake this week in the Haitian capitol. The death toll from the quake is still unknown but will surely number in the tens of thousands and perhaps even the hundreds of thousands. Much of the infrastructure of the country in and around the capitol has been damaged or destroyed.
There are approximately 30,000 Haitians in the United States facing deportation orders, but it would be cruel to send them into a situation where their safety and even their lives would be so much at risk. No time limit has been placed on the deportation suspension.
The earthquake has renewed calls for Haiti to be granted temporary protected status as are the countries of El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Somalia, and Sudan.
