By: Staff Writer
November 12, 2021
Thousands of Haitians are still stuck in Houston, Texas after crawling their way up from Central and South America and one Haitian pastor is trying to get help to some of them locked in detention centres but his efforts are being blocked.
Jean Sadraque Cius, a Haitian activist and lead pastor at the People Outreach Ministry, based in Houston, Texas, told Caribbean Magazine Plus that he has been feverishly trying to visit Haitian detainees in Houston Detention Centres but is being told that he and many other people looking to help the Haitian migrants are being turned back by immigration officials.
Pastor Cius said: “I have been able to help 3,000 Haitians thus far across the United States because there are many Haitians across various detention centres across the US,” but this time he is finding it difficult to get access to several Haitian detainees locked up in Houston centres.
In fact, Pastor Cius was on his way to see someone as we spoke, but he was concerned as he has heard of several accounts of Haitians being detained who have medical conditions and are in need to see a doctor. “We do have concerns because I think they have some that do need medical attention and they are unable to receive that because somehow the US government is not allowing us to see those who are in need of medical attention.”
The Us Immigration and Customs Enforcement does have a policy that allows detained to be tracked and seen by family members, however Pastor Cius said that they appear to be putting up “roadblocks” to his access as some of the people detained may not have immediate family to come to their rescue and right he may be the only person looking to help the Haitian migrants that are detained.
Pastor Cius’s help goes beyond advocacy in Texas as he has a network of support that stretched beyond the US border into Mexico where he has several safe houses set up to help migrants who are stuck across the border in Mexico, looking for their chance to enter the US for a better life.
“We do have friends that do help us out as well, other ministries that come along and help us for instance, we are sponsoring 10 different families who are struggling at the border of Mexico.
“They have no place to stay and what we do is we reach out to them and rent houses for them? We do that and give them money for food. We are helping them not just in the United States, but those who are trapped in Mexico as well.”
There are people that Pastor Cius has never even met personally, but he knows about them through the network of churches and support systems that help Haitian migrants find their way to a better life.
All of this has led Pastor Cius to a life more about evangelism now rather than being tied down to a particular ministry as he feels it is his duty to venture out and find people who need to be helped. “If people want to reach out to me to help me to help people who are in need of help they can.”
He also holds sensitisation meetings with stakeholders on a regular basis on how to best go about helping the thousands of displaced Haitians from South America all the way up to Texas.
Pastor Cius has a website where people can reach out and where they can buy merchandise and other collectibles that goes towards helping Haitian migrants in trouble.
Thus far, Pastor Cius has spent upwards of six figures trying to get individuals released from ICE custody in the last three months. “I just helped someone last week and signed their bond for $7,500. This is just one person. I spend much more on the network in Mexico.”
Why are Haitians stuck in Texas and at the border between US Southern states and Mexico? This issue goes way back to the devastating earthquake of 2010 in Haiti. This caused many Haitians to flee the blight that came along with having their country flattened. Some of them migrated to the closest developed country that could take them and many of them ended up in Mexico, Brazil, Peru and Chile. But all of a sudden, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and other factors, opportunities are drying up in these Central and South American countries and Haitian migrants want out.
This is how we have the Haitian border crisis in Texas and not in Florida where people expect Caribbean migrants to enter and have difficulties with ICE and US law enforcement.
Undeterred by the daunting task, Pastor Cius looks forward to a day where the Haitian diaspora can live in freedom and health in their own country. But for now, he is planning a “big political platform in the US that will protect all migrants in the US.”