FANM urges the Trump Administration to stop exporting COVID-19 to Haiti
MIAMI – Former death squad leader and U.S. criminal Emmanuel “Toto” Constant was deported to Haiti on Tuesday, June 23, 2020. This is the third time in recent weeks that ICE has tried to deport Constant.
Constant has been linked to the murders of at least 3,000 people in Haiti and has not served his full 37 year sentence in the United States.
His return to Haiti is highly destabilizing. In addition, the June 23rd flight is the seventh ICE deportation flight since Haiti confirmed its first case of coronavirus on March 19th. It is also unclear whether ICE has tested the dozens of deportees for coronavirus or if any are infected. Previously, they have not done so or have administered an unreliable test.
Family Action Network Movement (FANM) urges the Trump Administration to put a moratorium on deportations to Haiti and all other nations due to the current global crisis.
Marleine Bastien, Executive Director of Family Action Network Movement (FANM), stated, “Once again, ICE desperately tried to deport Emmanuel “Toto” Constant, a well-known mass murderer, to Haiti. Why now? Why does the US government insist on deporting Constant in the midst of a global pandemic? The US government knows full well that COVID-19 infections in Haiti are rising, its prisons are overcrowded, and its healthcare system is in shambles. Constant’s return will only add to this chaos, especially considering many of Constant’s friends remain in power and judges in Haiti are currently on strike. Does the US government want to export more instability to an already vulnerable nation? Does the government want to export this deadly virus? Given the rising number of COVID-19 cases in Haiti and in the US, deporting Constant now, and without a plan to prosecute him, is disgusting and dangerous.”
