Hundreds of rights groups urge US to stop deporting Haitians fleeing gang war

(Reuters) - Nearly 500 immigration and human rights organizations signed a letter urging the U.S. government to halt deportations of Haitians and expand migration protections as a devastating gang conflict escalates on the Caribbean island nation.

The Haitian Bridge Alliance, a San Diego-based non-profit, published a letter on Wednesday together with 481 migration, human rights, religious and civil rights groups, calling for the U.S. administration to extend temporary protected status (TPS) for Haitians, halt deportations and forced returns, release detained migrants and expand parole programs for refugees.

Countries including the United States, Canada and France have been evacuating their citizens as well as staff from the Haiti operations of international organizations such as the United Nations, European Union, World Bank and International Monetary Fund.

Neighboring countries have meanwhile bolstered border security and deported Haitians fleeing the violence back into the country, despite U.N. criticisms. The U.S. and Canada have also deployed soldiers to secure their embassies.

“If the United States cannot keep its personnel safe in Haiti, then the Haitian government is unlikely to keep Haitian nationals safe,” the letter said, arguing migration and forced displacement should not be separated from a lack of “reparatory justice for slavery, colonialism and neocolonial imperialism.”

Haiti’s political situation has been at a deadlock for over two weeks with politicians unable to come together to install a transition council president and interim prime minister, while alliances of heavily armed gangs continue fighting over parts of the capital Port-au-Prince that they do not yet control.