United News of Bangladesh

  The Trump administration has announced plans to end the temporary legal status for more than half a million migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela. According to a federal government notice, these migrants are being warned to leave the U.S. by April 24, when their permits and deportation protections will be revoked. The 530,000 individuals had entered the U.S. under a Biden-era sponsorship program, known as CHNV, designed to create legal migration pathways. However, Trump suspended the program when he took office. It remains unclear how many of these migrants have secured alternative legal status allowing them to stay in the U.S. in the meantime. The CHNV program was launched by Democratic President Joe Biden in 2022, initially covering Venezuelans before expanding to other countries. Trump plans to sign executive order for shutdown of US Education Department The program permitted migrants and their immediate families to enter the U.S. if they had American sponsors, where they could stay for two years under temporary immigration status, called parole. The Biden administration argued that CHNV would help reduce illegal crossings at the U.S.-Mexico border while providing better vetting for migrants entering the country. On Friday, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) criticized the previous administration, stating that the program had failed in its objectives. The DHS said that Biden's officials "granted them [migrants] opportunities to compete for American jobs and undercut American workers; forced career civil servants to promote the programs even when fraud was identified; and then blamed Republicans in Congress for the chaos that ensued and the crime that followed." Nevertheless, the 35-page notice in the Federal Register mentioned that some individuals in the U.S. under CHNV might be allowed to stay on a "case-by-case basis." Trump is also contemplating whether to revoke the temporary legal status for approximately 240,000 Ukrainians who fled to the U.S. due to the ongoing conflict with Russia. The CHNV program facilitated the entry of around 213,000 Haitians into the U.S. amid worsening conditions in Haiti, along with more than 120,700 Venezuelans, 110,900 Cubans, and over 93,000 Nicaraguans before Trump terminated the program. In addition, last month, DHS announced plans to end another immigration program, temporary protected status (TPS), for 500,000 Haitians living in the U.S. starting in August. TPS was originally granted to nationals of countries facing unsafe conditions, such as armed conflict or environmental disasters. DHS also suspended TPS for Venezuelans in the U.S., though this move is currently facing a legal challenge. Since Trump took office, his immigration policies have faced numerous legal obstacles. Source: BBC  

An airport in southwestern Haiti is ready to receive international flights for the first time, officials said Wednesday, adding a safer option for commercial airlines that have halted all flights to the main airport in Port-au-Prince, where gang violence persists. The Antoine Simon Airport in the coastal city of Les Cayes, named after a Haitian president who led a rebellion in the early 1900s, operated for almost two decades before renovations began in 2013 to extend its runway. It is now Haiti’s third international airport, a development that is expected to boost the local economy and provide a new way for some nonprofits to distribute sorely needed aid. “It’s really exciting,” said Wynn Walent, executive director of the Colorado-based nonprofit Locally Haiti, which operates in Haiti’s southwest. “For understandable reasons, folks are focused on the challenges in Port-au-Prince, but there is so much that can be done in the south. This could be a big step in that direction.” Serbian lawmakers injured as smoke bombs, flares thrown in parliament Hugh Aprile, Mercy Corps’ regional director for Latin America and the Caribbean, celebrated the new runway, saying it’s possible more organizations will base their teams in Les Cayes instead of Port-au-Prince. “Much of the needs are in the southern peninsula,” he said. “For us, this will be helpful.” Leslie Voltaire, president of Haiti's transitional presidential council, traveled to Les Cayes to unveil the renovated airport Wednesday, saying it would help develop sectors including tourism. “Infrastructure is the basis of a country’s economic development,” he said. Most people traveling to Haiti land at the international airport in the north coastal city of Cap-Haitien, then travel by land or helicopter to the capital. The Toussaint Louverture International Airport in Port-au-Prince remains open but commercial flights have been halted since gangs opened fire on three planes in November, slightly injuring a flight attendant.

Nearly 6,300 people have fled their homes in the aftermath of an attack in central Haiti by heavily armed gang members that killed at least 70 people, according to the U.N.’s migration agency. Nearly 90% of the displaced are staying with relatives in host families, while 12% have found refuge in other sites including a school, the International Organization for Migration said in a report last week. The attack in Pont-Sondé happened in the early hours of Thursday morning, and many left in the middle of the night. Gang members “came in shooting and breaking into the houses to steal and burn. I just had time to grab my children and run in the dark,” said 60-year-old Sonise Mirano on Sunday, who was camping with hundreds of people in a park in the nearby coastal city of Saint-Marc. Bodies lay strewn on the streets of Pont-Sondé following the attack in the Artibonite region, many of them killed by a shot to the head, Bertide Harace, spokeswoman for the Commission for Dialogue, Reconciliation and Awareness to Save the Artibonite, told Magik 9 radio station on Friday. Initial estimates put the number of those killed at 20 people, but activists and government officials discovered more bodies as they accessed areas of the town. Among the victims was a young mother, her newborn baby and a midwife, Herace said. Prime Minister Garry Conille vowed that the perpetrators would face the full force of the law in comments in Saint-Marc on Friday. Read: A gang in Haiti has killed more than 20 and injured dozens after raiding a small town, official says “It is necessary to arrest them, bring them to justice, and put them in prison. They need to pay for what they have done, and the victims need to receive restitution,” he said. The U.N. Human Rights Office of the Commissioner said in a statement that it was “horrified by Thursday’s gang attacks.” The European Union also condemned the violence in a statement on Friday, which it said marked “yet another escalation in the extreme violence these criminal groups are inflicting on the Haitian people.” Haiti’s government deployed an elite police unit based in the capital of Port-au-Prince to Pont-Sondé following the attack and sent medical supplies to help the area’s lone, and overwhelmed, hospital. Police will remain in the area for as long as it takes to guarantee safety, Conille said, adding that he didn’t know whether it would take a day or a month. He also appealed to the population, saying “the police cannot do it alone.” Gang violence across Artibonite, which produces much of Haiti’s food, has increased in recent years. Since that uptick, Thursday’s attack is one of the biggest massacres. Similar ones have taken place in the capital of Port-au-Prince, 80% of which is controlled by gangs, and they typically are linked to turf wars, with gang members targeting civilians in areas controlled by rivals. Many neighborhoods are not safe, and people affected by the violence have not been able to return home, even if their houses have not been destroyed. Read more:As UN meets, Haitians express hopelessness at finding an international solution to gang crisis More than 700,000 people — more than half of whom are children — are now internally displaced across Haiti, according to the International Organization for Migration in an Oct. 2 statement. That was an increase of 22% since June. Port-au-Prince hosts a quarter of the country’s displaced, often residing in overcrowded sites, with little to no access to basic services, the agency said. Those forced to flee their homes are mostly being accommodated by families, who have reported significant difficulties, including food shortages, overwhelmed healthcare facilities, and a lack of essential supplies on local markets, according to the agency.

Gang members attacked a small town in central Haiti early Thursday, killing more than 20 people, including children, according to a human rights group. Another 50 people were injured as the Gran Grif gang burned homes and cars in the town of Pont-Sondé, said Bertide Harace, spokeswoman for the Commission for Dialogue, Reconciliation and Awareness to Save the Artibonite. “A lot of people ran and left the area,” she told Radio Kiskeya. A video posted on social media shows a group of people fleeing through the brush, with one woman who was out of breath saying, “Nowhere to go. Nowhere to go.” In another video, dozens of people start running through a street after hearing rumors that the gang was approaching. Harace and others criticized police in the nearby coastal city of Saint-Marc, saying they did not mobilize to help people being attacked in Pont-Sondé. Read:As UN meets, Haitians express hopelessness at finding an international solution to gang crisis Venson François, a government prosecutor based in Saint-Marc, called the attack a “massacre” in an interview with Radio Caraïbes. Dozens of people crowded around a hospital in Saint-Marc where the injured were taken, with one man telling reporters that local authorities are not doing enough to protect people. The attack in Pont-Sondé was blamed on the Gran Grif gang. It operates in the central Artibonite region, and experts have described it as one of Haiti’s cruelest gangs. It has gained control of more territory since 2022 under the leadership of Luckson Elan, who was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department last month. In January 2023, the Gran Grif gang was accused of attacking a police station in Liancourt, located near Pont-Sondé, and killing at least six officers. Violence unleashed by the gang also forced the closure of a hospital in February 2023 that serves more than 700,000 people. Read more: Human rights group calls on governments to protect Venezuelan and Haitian immigrants Former Haitian legislator Prophane Victor, who represented the Artibonite department, began arming young men who eventually formed the Gran Grif gang to secure his election and control over the area, according to a U.N. report. The U.S. also sanctioned Victor last month. The gang has about 100 members and has been accused of crimes including murder, rape, robberies and kidnappings, according to the report. While most of the gang violence is concentrated in the capital of Port-au-Prince, it has spread in recent years to the Artibonite region, where much of Haiti's food is produced.

A Haitian journalist died Sunday after being shot in the head when police opened fire on reporters demanding the release of one of their colleagues who was detained while covering a protest, witnesses told The Associated Press. Reporters at the scene identified the slain journalist as Romelo Vilsaint and said he worked for an online news site. His body was lying face down inside the parking lot of a police station in Delmas in the capital of Port-au-Prince as colleagues surrounded it, crying out as they lifted their arms. Richard Pierrin, a freelance photographer for Agence France-Presse, told the AP he saw police open fire and Vilsaint get hit. Gary Desrosiers, a spokesman for Haiti’s National Police, confirmed to the AP that Vilsaint was fatally shot but declined further comment except to say it was a lamentable situation. As journalists and citizens surrounded the police station after Vilsaint was killed, officers fired tear gas to disperse them. Reporters at the scene said the journalist being held is Robest Dimanche, who works at local Radio Tele Zenith and was covering a protest when he was detained. The Online Media Collective, a local journalists’ association, denounced Dimanche’s arrest, saying he was being treated like a “dangerous criminal” and said he was charged with disturbing public order. Dimanche also is a spokesman for the organization. “Our spokesperson acted within the framework of the journalistic mission by covering a protest movement,” the organization said. “The detention ... is the latest signal, without doubt the most worrying, of a resurgence of attacks on freedom of information, and this journalist must be released.” The organization also demanded that those responsible for the recent killing of radio journalist Garry Tess and the Oct. 25 attack on Roberson Alphonse, a reporter for Le Nouvelliste newspaper, be brought to justice. On Wednesday, Le Nouvelliste, Haiti’s largest newspaper, announced it was suspending publication of its print product given “serious security problems” that are hampering production and distribution.

A small plane crashed Wednesday in the bustling Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince, killing at least five people and injuring several others, authorities said. The plane was headed to the southern coastal city of Jacmel when it tried to land in the community of Carrefour and hit a truck transporting soda bottles, said Pierre Belamy Samedi, a police commissioner for that region. Also read:Search finds 49,000 pieces of plane in China Eastern crash He told The Associated Press that the truck driver was among the dead. Samedi said the pilot was taken to the hospital, but his condition was not immediately known. He said a total of five people were aboard the plane. Haiti’s National Civil Aviation Office identified the plane as a Cessna 207. No further details were immediately available. Prime Minister Ariel Henry tweeted that he was saddened by the crash and offered his sympathies to the relatives of those who died. The incident comes nine months after a small private plane also headed to Jacmel crashed near Port-au-Prince, killing six people, including two U.S missionaries. Also read:No survivors found in China Eastern plane crash The use of small planes to travel from Port-au-Prince to communities south of it has grown more popular following a spike in kidnappings and gang violence, especially in the Martissant area, which connects the capital to Haiti's southern region.

Haiti’s spiraling insecurity and growing concerns about its ability to hold general elections following the killing of President Jovenel Moïse prompted two dozen international senior officials to meet Friday and agree to increase aid. Canada, which hosted the more than three-hour-long meeting with representatives from countries including the U.S., France and Mexico as well as U.N. officials, pledged $39 million in aid while other countries promised to improve Haiti’s security situation so it could hold successful elections. They also committed to bolstering Haiti's National Police as violence spikes and gangs become more powerful, with more than 20,000 Haitians forced to live in unhygienic shelters amid the pandemic after losing their homes in recent months to gang turf battles. “The increase in violence is only worsening the already precarious humanitarian situation,” said Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau ahead of the meeting, which was behind closed doors. “We must work together to restore stability, and to protect the safety and well-being of the Haitian people.” READ: US religious group says Haitian gang releases 3 hostages Representatives of 19 countries took part, including Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman and French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian. “In order to tackle insecurity, the partners agreed to strengthen their current and future support of the security sector, including the Haitian National Police, with a focus on respect for the rule of law, justice and human rights,” the office of Canadian Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly said in a statement after the meeting. Joly said all stakeholders in Haiti need to work together and “that without such an agreement, re-establishing security will remain a challenge, as will the holding of free and credible elections.” Henry, Haiti’s prime minister, said he expects to have a provisional electoral council in place in upcoming days and has pledged to hold elections this year, although he has not provided a date. He thanked the international community for helping Haiti during “a particularly trying time” and noted that violence was considerably disrupting everyday life and isolating several cities and towns in the southern part of the country, cutting off much needed aid. READ: US missionaries say 2 of 17 abductees freed in Haiti “There is an urgent need to address these problems and find lasting solutions,” he tweeted during the meeting. “I am convinced that the root cause of such a situation lies mainly in the abject poverty in which a significant part of our population lives.” Haiti is a country of 11 million inhabitants where about 60% earn less than $2 a day, and it is facing a deepening economic crisis, with inflation spiking and an estimated 4.4 million people at risk of hunger. It is also struggling to recover from the July 7 assassination of Moïse at his private residence and a 7.2 magnitude earthquake that struck last August, killing more than 2,200 people and destroying or damaging some 137,500 homes. Moïse’s killing complicated an already fragile political situation in Haiti. He had been ruling by decree for more than a year after dissolving a majority of Parliament in January 2020 amid a delay in legislative elections that have yet to be held, with only 10 senators currently in power. Opponents, meanwhile, claimed that Moïse’s own term should have ended in February 2021, while he insisted it should continue to Feb. 7 this year — the fifth anniversary of his inauguration, which had been delayed by controversy over his election. Some worry Haiti’s instability will deepen in early February when the term of the slain president expires. Shortly before his death, Moïse had tapped Henry to serve as prime minister and many observers think that Henry’s term should end on Feb. 7 as well, though he is not expected to step aside on that date. An official that attended the meeting said there was no discussion about possible foreign intervention or about the confidence that ministers might have in Henry’s ability to govern. Many parts of Haitian civil society are calling for accords that would allow for a consensual leadership of the country while it waits to renew its institutions through elections — though various factions differ on what the accord should contain. Jean Victor Généus, Haiti’s foreign affairs minister, met with reporters in Haiti after the meeting and praised the offers of help from the international community, saying that a stabilized Haiti also would attract investors.

A religious group based in Ohio announced Monday that a violent gang in Haiti has released three more hostages, while another 12 remain abducted. The statement from Christian Aid Ministries said the people were released on Sunday in Haiti and are “safe and seem to be in good spirits." The group provided no further details. On Nov. 21, the religious organization announced that the 400 Mawozo gang had released the first two hostages of a group of 17 kidnapped in mid-October. There are 12 adults and five children in the group of 16 U.S. citizens and one Canadian, including an 8-month-old. The leader of the 400 Mawozo gang has threatened to kill the hostages unless his demands are met. Authorities have said the gang was seeking $1 million per person, although it wasn’t immediately clear that included the children in the group. Also read: US missionaries say 2 of 17 abductees freed in Haiti “We are thankful to God that three more hostages were released last night,” said the statement from Christian Aid Ministries, an Anabaptist missions organization based in Berlin, Ohio. “As with the previous release, we are not able to provide the names of the people released, the circumstances of the release, or any other details.” The group reiterated its request for supporters to devote Monday through Wednesday as days of prayer and fasting “to intercede for those who are still being held as well as those who have been released.” The release comes amid an ongoing spike in kidnappings in the capital of Port-au-Prince and elsewhere in Haiti, which is struggling to recover from the July 7 presidential assassination, a 7.2 magnitude earthquake that struck in mid-August and a severe fuel shortage. Also read: Negotiations drag on over 17 missionaries kidnapped in Haiti On Sunday, a gang leader known as “Ti Lapli” posted a YouTube video warning people not to cross in upcoming days through the Martissant community, which has been the site of violent clashes between warring gangs. “Insecurity has increased,” the gang leader said. “I invite the people of Martissant to stock up on food and gasoline. The next few days will be difficult... We will not remain with our arms crossed in face of those who try to destroy us."

Two of 17 members of a missionary group who were kidnapped more than a month ago have been freed in Haiti and are safe, “in good spirits and being cared for,” their Ohio-based church organization announced Sunday. Christian Aid Ministries issued a statement saying it could not give the names of those released, why they were freed or other information. “While we rejoice at this release, our hearts are with the 15 people who are still being held," the group said. Read: Negotiations drag on over 17 missionaries kidnapped in Haiti The missionaries were kidnapped by the 400 Mawozo gang on Oct. 16. There are five children in the group of 16 U.S. citizens and one Canadian, including an 8-month-old. Their Haitian driver also was abducted, according to a local human rights organization. The leader of the 400 Mawozo gang has threatened to kill the hostages unless his demands are met. Authorities have said the gang was demanding $1 million per person, although it wasn’t immediately clear that included the children in the group. The spokesman for Haiti’s National Police, Gary Desrosiers, confirmed to The Associated Press that two hostages were released on Sunday. The FBI, which is helping Haitian authorities recover the captives, declined to comment. Read:US, Haiti seek release of 17 missionaries snatched by gang The release comes as Haiti struggles with a spike in gang-related violence and kidnappings, with the U.S. government recently urging U.S. citizens to leave Haiti amid deepening insecurity and a severe lack of fuel blamed on gangs blocking gas distribution terminals. On Friday, Canada announced it was pulling all but essential personnel from its embassy. The fuel shortage has forced hospitals to turn away patients and paralyzed public transportation, with some schools closing and businesses shortening their work hours. Haiti also is trying to recover from the July 7 assassination of President Jovenel Moise and a 7.2 magnitude earthquake that struck in mid-August, killing more than 2,200 people and destroying tens of thousands of homes.

Negotiations stretched into a fourth day seeking the return of 17 members of a U.S.-based missionary group kidnapped over the weekend by a violent gang that is demanding $1 million ransom per person. The group includes five children whose ages range from 8 months to 15 years, although authorities were not clear whether the ransom amount included them, a top Haitian official said Tuesday. Sixteen of the abductees are Americans and one Canadian. The abduction is one of at least 119 kidnappings recorded in Haiti for the first half of October, according to the Center of Analysis and Research of Human Rights, a local nonprofit group. It said a Haitian driver was abducted along with the missionaries, bringing the total to 18 people taken by the gang. The Haitian official, who was not authorized to speak to the press, told The Associated Press that someone from the 400 Mawozo gang made the ransom demand Saturday in a call to a leader of the Ohio-based Christian Aid Ministries shortly after the abduction. “This group of workers has been committed to minister throughout poverty-stricken Haiti,” the Ohio group said, adding that the missionaries worked most recently on a project to help rebuild homes lost in a magnitude-7.2 earthquake that struck southwestern Haiti on Aug. 14. The group was returning from visiting an orphanage when it was abducted, the organization said. READ: Haiti gang seeks $17M for kidnapped US missionaries Responding to the recent wave of kidnappings, workers staged a protest strike that shuttered businesses, schools and public transportation starting Monday. The work stoppage was a new blow to Haiti’s anemic economy. Unions and other groups vowed to continue the shutdown indefinitely. In a peaceful demonstration Tuesday north of Port-au-Prince, dozens of people walked through the streets of Titanyen demanding the release of the missionaries. Some carried signs that read “Free the Americans” and “No to Kidnapping!” and explained that the missionaries helped pay bills and build roads and schools. “They do a lot for us,” said Beatrice Jean. Meanwhile, the country’s fuel shortage worsened, with businesses blaming gangs for blocking roads and gas distribution terminals. Hundreds of motorcycles zoomed through the streets of Port-au-Prince on Tuesday as the drivers yelled, “If there’s no fuel, we’re going to burn it all down!” One protest took place near the prime minister’s residence, where police fired tear gas to disperse a crowd demanding fuel. In Washington, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Tuesday that the FBI was “part of a coordinated U.S. government effort” to free the missionaries. The U.S. Embassy in Port-au-Prince was coordinating with local officials and the hostages’ families. “We know these groups target U.S. citizens who they assume have the resources and finances to pay ransoms, even if that is not the case,” Psaki said, noting that the government has urged U.S. citizens not to visit Haiti. It is longstanding U.S. policy not to negotiate with hostage takers, and Psaki declined to discuss details of the operation. The kidnapping was the largest of its kind reported in recent years. Haitian gangs have grown more brazen as the country tries to recover from the July 7 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse and the earthquake that killed more than 2,200 people. Christian Aid Ministries said the kidnapped group included six women, six men and five children. A sign on the door at the organization’s headquarters in Berlin, Ohio, said it was closed due to the kidnapping situation. News of the kidnappings spread swiftly in and around Holmes County, Ohio, hub of one of the largest populations of Amish and conservative Mennonites in the United States, said Marcus Yoder, executive director of the Amish & Mennonite Heritage Center in nearby Millersburg, Ohio. Christian Aid Ministries is supported by conservative Mennonite, Amish and related groups that are part of the Anabaptist tradition. READ: Protest strike shuts down Haiti amid search for missionaries The organization was founded in the early 1980s and began working in Haiti later that decade, said Steven Nolt, professor of history and Anabaptist studies at Elizabethtown College in Pennsylvania. The group has year-round mission staff in Haiti and several countries, he said, and it ships religious, school and medical supplies throughout the world.