HAITI PRIME MINISTER ARIEL HENRY: Bolstered by U.S. congressional influence, he and Haitian leaders met in Jamaica last week to discuss elections and the country’s crisis. PHOTO COURTESY OF MASSLIVE.COM

MIAMI, Fla. – With Haiti engulfed in a whirlpool of violence and anarchy that has caused thousands of deaths by gangs terrorizing the country and led to the assassination of Haiti President Jovenel Moise, U.S. Congress members have urged President Biden to restore law and order to bring the country under control.

The representatives are sponsoring bipartisan legislation to improve citizens’ security from Haitian gangs, crack down on illicit financial flows and make elections free as the ongoing crisis in Port-auPrince and other areas have people fearing for their lives.

Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, a Democrat and Haitian immigrant whose district covers portions of Broward and Palm Beach counties, and Republican Maria Elvira Salazar from Miami are leading the charge along with Mike Lawler (R-NY), and Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-CA).

“As a Haitian American, it is deeply upsetting to watch Haiti confront a series of humanitarian, political, and economic crises that grow worse each day,” Cherfilus-McCormick said in a statement.

“This resolution underscores that the United States has a responsibility, as both a neighbor and ally of Haiti, to address this instability before it grows further out of control. The violence and painful suffering faced by Haiti cannot continue any longer. I commend the civil society groups and numerous organizations across the Haitian Diaspora who remain steadfastly committed to restoring stability overseas.”

Since 2022, Haiti has remained in a longstanding political, security and humanitarian crisis that has left all government branches inoperative, compounding overwhelming impunity for human rights abuses.

Armed gangs intensified their control of strategic areas, increasing violence, including at the main fuel terminal in Portau-Prince, preventing the distribution of fuel.

The latter has harshly impacted businesses, schools and hospitals, and created shortages of basic goods including water and telecommunications.

More than 42 percent of Haiti’s population needs humanitarian assistance and up to 40 percent of the country experiences acute food insecurity, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

According to the Institute for Justice of Democracy in Haiti, 1,349 homicides were reported from January through August 2022, and 877 kidnappings.

“The situation in Haiti is of critical importance to many of my constituents in the Hudson Valley,” said Lawler. “As the elected representative of one of the largest Haitian Diasporas in the world, I share their concerns about the ongoing public safety and political crises in Haiti.”

With more than a million people of Haitian descent living in the United States, he said, “it is well within our national interest to help here and ensure a return to normalcy, safety, and democratic governance in Haiti."

The crisis has sparked massive exodus by Haitians who were either stopped and repatriated by the U.S. Coast Guard or taken into custody in Broward and Dade Counties after their ships came ashore.

According to the United States Coast Guard, the U.S. and other countries repatriated almost 41,000 Haitians by air and sea from January 2021 to September 2022.

Cherfilus-McCormick said Vice President Kamala Harris will renew the Biden’s administration’s push for an international force to assist Haiti, and that it demonstrates the administration “recognizes that the deep suffering faced by Haitians cannot continue any longer, and a robust, multilateral solution is warranted."

Haitian leaders met in Jamaica last week to negotiate a path to elections in Haiti and discussed the country’s crisis.

Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry and other Haitian leaders agreed to continue talking back in Port-au-Prince and in the coming days meet with members of a Haiti transition council whose job is to prepare the volatile country for longoverdue elections.