U.S. special envoy to Haiti resigns over expulsions

The Biden administration’s special envoy to Haiti resigned in protest of “inhumane“largescale expulsions of Haitian migrants to their homeland as it is wracked by civil strife and natural disaster, U.S. officials said Thursday.

Daniel Foote was appointed to the position only in July, following the assassination of Haiti’s President Jovenel Moise. Even before the migrant expulsions from the small Texas border town of Del Rio, the career diplomat was known to be deeply frustrated with what he considered a lack of urgency in Washington and a glacial pace on efforts to improve conditions in Haiti.

Foote wrote Secretary of State Antony Blinken that he was stepping down immediately “with deep disappointment and apologies to those seeking crucial changes.”

“I will not be associated with the United States inhumane, counterproductive decision to deport thousands of Haitian refugees and illegal immigrants to Haiti, a country where American officials are confined to secure compounds because of the danger posed by armed gangs to daily life,” he wrote. “Our policy approach to Haiti remains deeply flawed, and my policy recommendations have been ignored and dismissed, when not edited to project a narrative different from my own.”

The State Department criticized Foote for resigning at a critical juncture and pushed back against suggestions that his policy prescriptions were overlooked.

“This is a challenging moment that requires leadership,” spokesman Ned Price said in a written statement. “It is unfortunate that, instead of participating in a solutions-oriented policy process, Special Envoy Foote has both resigned and mischaracterized the circumstances of his resignation.”

He added that the role of the president’s advisers is to provide him with the best possible advice. “No ideas are ignored, but not all ideas are good ideas,” Price said.

Foote’s sudden departure leaves a void in U.S. policy toward Haiti — U.S. Ambassador Michele Sison is expected to depart soon after being nominated to serve in another State Department post — and adds another critical voice to the administration’s response to Haitians camped on the Texas border.

Criticism has been fueled by images that went viral this week of Border Patrol agents on horseback using aggressive tactics against the migrants. Democrats and many proimmigration groups say efforts to expel thousands of Haitians without giving them a chance to seek asylum violates American principles.

The migrant camp has shrunk considerably since surpassing more than 14,000 people on Saturday, with many of them expelled and many others released in the U.S. with notices to report to immigration authorities.

The expulsion flights to Haiti began Sunday and there were 10 by the end of Tuesday, according to Haitian officials. U.S. officials say they are ramping up to seven flights a day, which would make it one of the swiftest, large-scale expulsions from the U.S. in decades.

At least one top official in Haiti cheered Foote’s resignation while accusing the Biden administration of violating the rights of Haitian migrants.

“This is the first time we see a U.S. diplomat who has decided to go against the will of the U.S. government,” Mathias Pierre, Haiti’s election minister, told The Associated Press. “We salute that.”

Pierre also criticized Haiti’s elite, saying they have turned a blind eye because migration fuels the economy.