US Envoy to Haiti Resigns Over ‘Inhumane’ Deportation of Haitian Immigrants

The U.S. envoy to Haiti announced Thursday he was resigning from his position, saying it was “inhumane” for the United States to deport Haitians in the U.S. illegally.

“Our policy approach to Haiti remains deeply flawed, and my recommendations have been ignored and dismissed,” Daniel Foote said in a letter of resignation addressed to Secretary of State Antony Blinken. “I will not be associated with the United States inhumane, counterproductive decision to deport thousands of Haitian refugees and illegal immigrants to Haiti, a country where American officials are confined to secure compounds because of the dangers posed by armed gangs in control of daily life.”

Thousands of Haitians have amassed at the U.S.-Mexico border in an effort to enter the country, but the U.S. is expected to return as many as 14,000 to Haiti over the next several weeks.

Foote previously served as a diplomat under Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton. In his letter, which was dated Wednesday and made public on Thursday, he also criticized the U.S. for getting involved with Haitian politics after Prime Minister Jovenel Moïse was assassinated in July.

“Last week, the U.S. and other embassies in Port-au-Prince issued another public statement of support by for the unelected, de facto Prime Minister Dr. Ariel Henry as interim leader of Haiti, and have continued to tout his political agreement over another broader, earlier accord shepherded by civil society,” Foote wrote. “The hubris that makes us believe we should pick the winner — again — is impressive. This cycle of international political interventions in Haiti has consistently produced catastrophic results. More negative impacts to Haiti will have calamitous consequences not only in Haiti, but in the U.S. and our neighbors in the hemisphere.”

Watch above via MSNBC.