Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley, D-MA, who represents Randolph, questioned expert witnesses about the human rights crisis in Haiti during a hearing of the House Foreign Affairs Committee entitled “Haiti on the Brink: Assessing U.S. Policy Toward a Country in Crisis.”

Almost 60 percent of the country’s 10 million people live in poverty, and almost a quarter of them live in extreme poverty, according to Pressley. With more than 25,000 Haitians and Haitian-Americans, Pressley’s district is home to the third-largest Haitian diaspora community in the country.

Additionally, Massachusetts is home to more than 4,700 Haitians with Temporary Protected Status.

In November, Pressley met with Haitian community leaders from her district to discuss the crisis and hear the stories of those most impacted.