On Tue., Aug. 23, about 20 people rallied at Haiti’s Consulate General in Manhattan to demand the release of Patrick Julney, Jean Bertrang Casimir, Billy Balisage, Saguens Bernabe, John Dor, and other longtime U.S. residents who were incarcerated in Haiti’s National Penitentiary without charges or trial when deported there earlier this year. At the rally, families delivered a petition to Consul General Marie Andrée Amy while also demanding that the Biden Administration halt all deportations to Haiti immediately.
“This is a life or death situation,” said Haydi Torres from Movimiento Cosecha. “Struggling to make ends meet here, families must also send money to their loved ones in prison so they can eat and get the medications they need to survive. Every day that goes by, their health and well-being deteriorate.”
The rally was co-hosted by local groups, including Black Alliance for Just Immigration (BAJI), Capital Area Immigrants’ Rights (CAIR) Coalition, Close the Camps, Envision Freedom Fund, Haitian Bridge Alliance, ICE Watch NYC, Institute for Justice & Democracy in Haiti (IDJH), Movimiento Cosecha, and Unidad Latina en Accion (ULA).
