Biden, Congress year-end actions might affect Haiti, immigration

The Haitian Times 
www.haitiantimes.com 
By J.O. Haselhoef

As 2022 comes to an end, a flurry of activity around Haiti’s crises and immigration is taking place on Capitol Hill, with President Joe Biden appointing a special representative to oversee some diplomacy developments this week and Congress looking at passing legislation that might affect Haitian immigrants.

Biden appointed former Senator Christopher Dodd to the State Department position of Special Presidential Advisor for the Americas on November 18. Dodd, who served in both the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate from the state of Connecticut, is tasked with seeing through key Biden administration initiatives — immigration, health, human rights and food security— for the region. He will also help prepare for the upcoming Cities Summit of the Americas taking place in Denver in April 2023.

Dodd, whose experience as a Peace Corps volunteer in the Dominican Republic, and his views on Haitian intervention during the Clinton administration, is no stranger to Haiti. In 2010, Dodd co-sponsored a bill into law to relieve Haiti of its outstanding debt with the International Monetary Fund, also known as the Haiti Recovery Act.