December 11, 2011
The Honorable Janet Napolitano
Secretary of Homeland Security
U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Washington, D.C. 20528
The Honorable Hillary Clinton
U.S. Department of State
Washington, DC 20520
Dear Secretary Napolitano and Secretary Clinton:
As a diverse group of faith-based, humanitarian, development organizations, active in supporting
Haiti’s recovery and reconstruction efforts we write to urge you to consider including Haiti among
the list of 53 countries currently eligible for the H-2A/H-2B temporary worker programs.
The United States has played an important leadership role in Haiti’s relief and recovery efforts, a
sign of our nation’s ongoing and unwavering commitment to ensuring a brighter future and
increased opportunities for the Haitian people. It is in light of this commitment that we urge you
to allow Haiti’s participation in the H-2 programs: a rational and manageable way to allow lowskill Haitian workers who fit the needs of American business-owners to come to the United
States temporarily, work hard, learn new skills, and remit money to their families who are
rebuilding from the earthquake's devastation. Each H-2 worker admitted would typically raise
the income of a Haitian family by $19,000 per year. A moderate flow of H-2 workers over ten
years would provide Haitian families with roughly $400 million—roughly the size of the entire
U.S. aid allocation for reconstruction in Haiti ($412 million). Allowing Haiti to participate in the
H-2 programs would create economic opportunities for Haiti while complementing U.S. relief
efforts. Because extremely few people in Haiti qualify for high-skill work visas, continuing the
ban on Haiti’s participation in the H-2 program means almost all Haitians have no legal
employment-based way to enter the United States, even temporarily.
It is our understanding that this annual determination is currently underway and expected to be
announced by January 2012. Under the regulatory criteria that guide this determination, we
understand that the Secretary of Homeland Security with concurrence by the Secretary of State
may consider a number of factors, including: 1) The number of a country's nationals ordered
removed, 2) A country’s cooperation with facilitating the return of its nationals, and 3) such
other factors as may serve the U.S. interest.
We note that Haitian nationals are nowhere near the top of the list of individuals ordered
removed from the United States in the last year. In fact, 92 percent of all removals are to four
countries - Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras - all of which are included in the H2A/H-2B program. Moreover, Haiti is not among the top 15 countries whose nationals have
been apprehended in the United States.
We likewise note that Haitian deportations are primarily limited by Haiti's Temporary Protected
Status (TPS) designation and ICE's stated policy of removing only those with serious criminal
convictions, a policy that Haiti has cooperated in facilitating.
Most importantly, as your Departments consider designating Haiti while weighing "such
other factors as may serve the U.S. interest," we propose that the economic well-being of
Haiti and its nationals, as well as the humanitarian considerations at stake, are well within
the U.S. interest.
Thank you for your time and attention to this matter and for the actions your Departments have
taken both in the immediate aftermath of the earthquake and to strengthen Haiti’s recovery and
reconstruction. Given the timeliness of this deliberation, we urge your urgent attention to this
request and would welcome the opportunity to meet with you and your staffs at your earliest
convenience. Please direct any questions or comments to Shaina Aber of Jesuit Refugee
Service/USA at saber@jesuit.org.
Sincerely,
American Jewish World Service
Environmental Justice Initiative for Haiti
Grassroots International
Institute for Justice & Democracy in Haiti
Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service
Jesuit Refugee Service/USA
Mennonite Central Committee
Other Worlds
Unitarian Universalist Service Committee
CC:
Alejandro Mayorkas, Director, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service
Thomas Adams, US Special Coordinator for Haiti