Shortly after a devastating earthquake that resulted in the deaths of over 2,200 Haitians and the July assassination of President Jovenel Moïse, the Biden Administration is deporting families to Haiti under Title 42, without offering them legal protection or the opportunity to file for asylum.

UNITE HERE represents over 300,00 hospitality workers across the U.S. and Canada, including thousands of Haitian housekeepers, servers, cooks, and concessions workers. UNITE HERE International Union President D. Taylor addressed the crisis saying, “It is dehumanizing to witness the violent lashes towards Haitian asylum seekers at the US-Mexico border. The Biden administration is choosing to deport families at a moment when Haiti is facing immense turmoil. This decision to deport Haitian families from the Southern border is inexcusable and must be stopped immediately.”

Most UNITE HERE hospitality workers are Black and Brown, immigrants, and women, who despite being laid off, cut from their unemployment checks and health insurance coverage, came together and got-out-the-vote to deliver the presidency for President Joe Biden and Vice-President Kamala Harris.

“The backlash of anti-Black immigrant policies needs to stop,” said Rose Denis, President of UNITE HERE Local 355 in South Florida. “I fled from Haiti to Miami over 17 years ago to escape political persecution. Now, I represent hospitality workers across South Florida who have been on the frontlines working to get our economy running again. Our spirit as Haitians is to fight back. In 1804 we led the largest slave rebellion in the Western Hemisphere against colonial rule. We are resilient, but we cannot do it alone. It’s time for President Biden to step up and defend Haitians by taking immediate action to stop deportations.”

During the 2020 presidential election UNITE HERE ran the largest union door-to-door canvassing operation in the United States. As part of their Take Back 2020 campaign, 1,700 canvassers knocked on the doors of three million voters in Nevada, Arizona, Pennsylvania, and Florida. UNITE HERE continued this momentum by joining the team that turned Georgia blue to help deliver come-from-behind wins in the January 2021 Georgia Senate runoffs. They’re holding Congress accountable to push for immigration reform this year.