Haitians are fleeing on wooden sailboats to the United States to escape the gang-related violence, poverty, and kidnappings due to political instability throughout their country. According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, more than 40,000 migrants attempted to come to the U.S. to seek asylum in 2022. Since March of 2022, more than two hundred Haitians have been traveling using a sailboat to arrive at the Florida Keys. Officials have been working to keep these immigrants clean and fed and are trying to identify their details to start their immigration processes.
The deadly gang violence in Haiti has been forcing people to survive with a lack of food or other amenities and exposing them to dangerous violence. Armed groups have taken control over the fuel in Haiti which has made it difficult for Haitians to have electricity or travel anywhere without fuel. These inhumane living conditions are prompting them to flee to the U.S. In May, Coast Guard rescued around thirty-six female Haitians and found eleven women dead on a boat near the northwest of Puerto Rico. The number of Haitians fleeing to the United States has only drastically increased over time as they are determined to find a safer home and a better quality of life for themselves.
