Patron of Haiti, Our Lady of Perpetual Help, shows both hope and concern as comforts her son and looks out toward all of us; the icon is comforting and complicated. The 12,000 migrants camped in Del Rio, Texas, many of whom are Haitians, know too well the complicated mix of hope and worry. The Biden administration is invoking Title 42 which allows refugees to be summarily turned away because of health concerns, a provision many medical experts oppose. Since US law traditionally allowed refugees to cross the border, a federal judge gave the Biden administration two weeks to halt the deportation of asylum-seeking Haitian families with children.
The expulsion is particularly punitive for Haitians given the July assassination of President Jovenel Moïse and the August earthquake. While Mexico allows migrants from some countries to remain in Mexico while awaiting legal processing in the United States, but that provision does not include Haitians.
Let us pray that Our Lady of Refuge move our legislators to engage in reforming our immigration laws, to find a way to expedite processing asylum requests. Let us also pray that those who must flee their country find safe shelter.
