[1][2] There are roughly 3.5 million people of Haitian ancestry living outside Haiti, mainly due to chronic economic issues,[3] gang wars, violence and political crises.
In January 2010, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced that Canada will consider fast-tracking immigration to help Haitian earthquake refugees.
[4] US Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano announced that the estimated 100,000 to 200,000 Haitians "not legally in the United States" as of January 12, 2010, would be granted a form of asylum called temporary protected status (TPS).
[6] Senegal is offering parcels of land – even an entire region if they come en masse – to people affected by the earthquake in Haiti.
There are large Haitian communities in Massachusetts; Spring Valley, New York; New Jersey; Washington, D.C.; Providence, Rhode Island; Georgia; Connecticut; Pennsylvania and Ohio.
Haitian immigrants have constituted a visible segment of American and Canadian society, dating back to before the independence of Haiti from France in 1804.
Haiti's proximity to the United States, and its status as a free black republic in the years before the American Civil War, have contributed to this relationship.
The political repression that characterized Duvalier's regime forced large numbers of Haitians to seek safer harbor in the United States.
Sustained political oppression, economic hardship, and lack of opportunity continued to drive contingents of Haitian immigrants out of their homeland throughout the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s.
"[13] Haitian immigration persists to the present day, as evidenced in the numerous reports of major news networks, such as those of CNN or the New York Times, about the boat people disembarking on the Florida shores as recently as October 2002.
The combination of push and pull factors led Haitians to cross the Caribbean Sea, by plane or by boat, legally or illegally, in order to reach the shores of America, the perceived land of opportunity, to begin new lives.
However, estimates provided by community leaders who offer assistance to the illegal population as well suggest that the actual number of the Haitian diaspora is higher than that recorded in government documents.
Pierre-Richard Prosper, the son of Haitian doctors, served as U.S. ambassador-at-large for war crimes after he was nominated by President Bush in January 2001.
The Congressional Black Caucus has urged more economic aid for Haiti and criticized the lack of U.S. support for former Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, ousted in 2004 amid a violent uprising.
Activities focusing on food services (catering and restaurants), money transfer, tax preparation, and financial management are among the most common, attracting interest and sustaining success.
The Haitian community in Boston, now almost 50 years old, has adjusted to several waves of immigration, each bringing people with different socio-economic backgrounds, interests, and needs.
[citation needed] Members of this group enjoy ownership of their homes or cooperative apartments in the neighborhoods of Cambria Heights, Queens Village, Springfield Gardens and Jamaica.
On intensely hot days, passersby strolling along these avenues and boulevards have their nostrils filled with the aromas of fried meats and plantains, and their ears with rhythms of Sweet Micky, Kompa, Zin, T-Vice, Carimi, Tabou Combo and Boukman Eksperyans, to name some of the most celebrated musical groups and bands.
For example, Flanbwayan and Gran Chimen Sant Kiltirèl, both located in Brooklyn, New York, aim to promote education and Haitian culture through advocacy, literacy projects, and cultural/artistic endeavors.
Also not far from downtown, on Ferry Street in Detroit's museum district near Wayne State University, is another key institution of the Haitian community, the Espoir Center for Caribbean Arts and Culture.
Although Washington's Haitians are scattered within the region, the single location with the heaviest concentration of Haitian-Americans is the suburban area of Silver Spring, Langley Park and Hyattsville, home of the future ISU president Sebi.
Haitians live, work and shop throughout the greater Atlanta area which now includes the surrounding Gwinnett, Cobb, Douglas, Dekalb and Clayton counties.
Once they are able, some end up moving out of Little Haiti to the neighboring municipality of North Miami where a relatively large segment of Haitian immigrants of lower-middle-class background relocates.
On the other hand, Miami is also experiencing another wave of Haitian immigration, this time coming from the Northeast United States (New York City and Boston), the Midwest (Chicago) and Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
City government efforts are currently underway to revitalize the neighborhood, by creating long-term economic development, and improving housing and infrastructure.
Later, Haitians continued to come to Cuba to work as braceros (hand workers, from the Spanish word brazo, meaning "arm") in the fields cutting cane.
In 2015 and 2016, due to the political-economic crisis faced by Brazil, many Haitians returned to Haiti or went to other countries, such as Chile, Peru and the United States.
The PF issues a preliminary protocol that makes them "asylum seekers", obtaining the same rights as Brazilian citizens, such as access to health and education.
In April 2014, due to the flooding of the Madeira River, this already overcrowded shelter had to be closed, leaving not only Haitians but also migrants from other countries, such as Senegal, Nigeria, the Dominican Republic and Bangladesh.
Since April 8 and 9, 2014, the massive arrival of Haitians to the city of São Paulo without warning, on buses chartered by the government of Acre, has attracted the attention of the press, civil society and various humanitarian organizations.