Haiti tells U.N. October election may help ease migration crisis

UNITED NATIONS,  (Reuters) – Haiti’s October presidential election will be important to easing poverty, acting President Jocelerme Privert told the United Nations General Assembly yesterday, as the United States toughens its stance toward a wave of Haitian immigrants.

More than 5,000 Haitians have entered the United States without visas this fiscal year through Oct. 1, according to Department of Homeland Security officials, up from 339 in fiscal year 2015.

“The credibility of the upcoming election is vital to break with the cycle of instability and uncertainty which has beset my country for too long,” Privert said.

He said the government was aware of the many Haitians leaving to seek a better life elsewhere and that the Caribbean nation would need more international support after the Oct. 9 election.

“The new leaders will urgently need to address the structural problems which persistently undermine Haiti’s effort to move out of underdevelopment,” Privert said.

The United States, responding to a surge in Haitian immigrants, will end special protections for them dating back to a devastating earthquake there in 2010, the Department of Homeland Security said on Thursday.

If conditions improve at home, fewer Haitians would risk the hazardous journey to the United States and Canada.