A call to help Haitians in Tijuana

The San Diego Union-Tribune, October 6, 2016. Sandra Dibble. Between May and September 2016, more than 5,000 migrants from Haiti have come to the San Ysidro border.  Most had been living in Brazil, which offered them work following Haiti’s 2010 earthquake, but left when that country’s economy faltered and employment became increasingly difficult. Many of those who made the arduous, risky journey by land to Tijuana initially were allowed into the United States on a humanitarian parole, a policy had been in place since the earthquake, when the U.S. government halted non-criminal deportations to Haiti. But on Sept. 22, DHS  announced the resumption of deportations to Haiti and migrants continue to arrive.

Since September, ICF has raised and granted over $20,000 to Casa Migrante and Desayunador Salesiano Padre Chava, two centers in Tijuana that are providing shelter, food, and basic necessities to hundreds of Haitians in recent months. Another $270,000 would feed 300 people for 90 days. Read more about this crisis in the San Diego Union-Tribune.