HAITIAN CRIMINAL ALIEN BACKLOG ELIMINATED: RESULTS

C O N F I D E N T I A L PORT AU PRINCE 000837 STATE FOR WHA/EX AND WHA/CAR STATE PASS AID FOR LAC/CAR S/CRS SOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD INR/IAA WHA/EX PLEASE PASS USOAS E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/23/2014 TAGS: KCRM PGOV PHUM HA SUBJECT: HAITIAN CRIMINAL ALIEN BACKLOG ELIMINATED: RESULTS AND OBSERVATIONS REF: A. 09 PORT AU PRINCE 00506 ¶B. 09 PORT AU PRINCE 00347 ¶1. (SBU) Summary: The arrival of twenty-eight Haitian criminal aliens via flight(JPAT) to Port-au-Prince on September signaled the successful elimination of the ''backlog'' of individuals with criminal convictions awaiting deportation to Haiti. Inadequate technological capacity, unreliable access to the Internet, obsolete software, and Haiti's poor telecommunications infrastructure were some of the roadblocks to a smooth process. Local deportee associations expressed concern about continued flights after the closure of Haiti's only reintegration program. End Summary. The Final Twenty-Eight -------------- ¶2. (C) Since deportations resumed in April (ref A) ICE has deported four hundred ninety-five criminal aliens to Haiti. The GoH has refused to accept an additional twenty-nine (n = 5.53 percent),usually over questions of citizenship. Frequently, criminal aliens claim Bahamian citizenship, a common destination for Haitian illegal migrants. Capacity-related objections often stem from real or alleged medical conditions such as mental illness, AIDs, or the need for dialysis...conditions that the GoH claims it has no capacity to absorb and treat. ¶3. (SBU) ICE's Santo Domingo-based Deportations Liaison Officer and POLOFF observed twenty-eight criminal aliens returned to Haitian soil on September 16. GoH Ministry of the Interior representative Kettlyean Martial was also present. Less Contentious Than Before -------------- ¶4. (C) Procedures are becoming normalized. Relations between the MOI, ICE, and Post are cordial and cooperative. Martial has informally agreed to provide ICE officials with at least forty-eight hours notice if they have objections to a specific criminal alien's return, but she cites unreliable access to the Internet, obsolete software, and Haiti's poor telecommunications infrastructure as barriers to a smooth process. ¶5. (SBU) Complications can also arise once the criminal aliens arrive in Haiti. As an example, on September 16, a criminal alien claiming Bahamian citizenship insisted that he was in possession of a Bahamian passport, although he could not produce evidence. While GoH officials further questioned him, the ICE agent called Miami for additional information. After the US-based agent reported that the person in question had stated ''Haitian'' to all nationality questions on his previous paperwork, Martial immediately directed him to board the waiting bus. What?! -------------- ¶6. (SBU) ICE agent reports it is easier for them to resolve issues when criminal aliens are refused by the GoH while still in custody on U.S. soil. The new agent also states that criminal aliens rejected after landing in Haiti and who are returned to the U.S. are automatically released into the U.S. population, under a ''Forseeble Future'' clause stemming from a 2001 Supreme Court decision. Ongoing Issues -------------- ¶7. (C) The GoH is concerned that several high-profile and potentially destabilizing criminal aliens will arrive in Haiti without advance notice. Post agreed to provide them with the information well in advance so that Haitian government officials could deal with potential problems. This, however, has not always worked out because of irregular information sharing by law enforcement in the US and Post was as surprised as the GoH when a politically sensitive criminal (Fourel Celestin) of three individuals appeared with no warning. ICE and Post have coordinated to minimize the risks that this could occur again. Deportees Weigh In -------------- ¶8. (SBU) Several deportee self-help associations have expressed concern over the closure of the International Office of Migration's (IOM) deportee reintegration program and have contacted POLOFF to register their dismay. They expressed worry that the cessation of all reintegration services opens a potential security problem and leaves them in increasingly difficult local circumstances. Although they had ongoing concerns and issues with the IOM program (ref B), it did offer them some services such as program advocates who would help them obtain identity documents from the GoH. ¶9. (C) Comment: The backlog of Haitian criminal aliens has been eliminated, JPAT flights will continue (two additional flights have been scheduled for October),and interagency coordination has also improved. The GoH has been responsive to our requests to this point and the resumption of flights was not especially contentious, but the ease of future flights may hinge upon any future decision regarding TPS status for Haitians. End Comment. LINDWALL