68 members of Congress, led by
@RepGregoryMeeks and
@RepJeffries, the chair of the
@HouseDemocrats, sent a letter today to
@SecBlinken
calling for a reassessment of US policy in Haiti. “Continuing along the same path will only exacerbate the situation,” they wrote.
While
@StateDept has advocated elections as an answer to the political impasse, the members stated that
@moisejovenel “lacks the credibility and legitimacy to oversee” either the June constitutional referendum or elections later this year.
Pushing forward with flawed elections “will only further undermine faith in democratic governance, waste scarce resources and perpetuate a cycle of political instability and violence.” The members urge
@StateDept to instead “support a Haiti-led process for change.”
The letter also pushes back on the Biden administration’s interpretation of Moise’s presidential mandate, a position backed by the UN and OAS. “It is the Haitian people who will determine the legitimacy of their leaders, and not any foreign government.”
In addition to the political situation, the letter calls on the Biden administration to halt the continued
@ICEgov expulsions to Haiti. More than 1,500 have been deported since Biden took office. Finally, members call for redesignation of TPS for Haitians.
Among the letter’s signers are the Chairs of the Ethics, Foreign Affairs, Homeland Security, Judiciary, Rules, Science/Space/Technology, Small Business, and Ways & Means committees. Every Democrat on the Western Hemisphere subcommittee in Congress endorsed this message.