WASHINGTON – Today Haiti Caucus Co-Chairs Representatives Ayanna Pressley (MA-07), Yvette D. Clarke (NY-09), Andy Levin (MI-09), and Val Demings (FL-10) released the following statement on the 12-year anniversary of the catastrophic 7.0 magnitude earthquake that struck Haiti on January 12, 2010:

“Today, we join the Haitian people and supporters from around the world in remembering over 230,000 lives lost, 300,000 injured, 1.5 million left homeless, and countless lives forever changed on January 12, 2010. Our prayers remain with the victims and the survivors who continue to persevere in the aftermath.

“On this somber anniversary, we also recognize the immense challenges that Haiti has experienced over the last year. Even as the impacts of the 2010 earthquake continue to be felt, the Haitian people have endured political instability and gang violence, the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse, and an additional 7.2 magnitude earthquake that struck last August. Yet the Haitian people remain resilient, and we have seen Haitian civil society organizations continue to rise to face these challenges and work together to pursue a Haitian-led transition to democracy, security, stability, peace, and prosperity.

 “As Co-Chairs of the House Haiti Caucus, we mourn with the Haitian people and recommit ourselves to lifting up their voices and leadership in the reformation of a stronger and more resilient democracy. Today and every day, we stand with the people of Haiti.”

As Representative for the Massachusetts 7^th Congressional District, Congresswoman Pressley serves as Co-Chair for the House Haiti Caucus and represents one of the largest Haitian diaspora communities in the country, with approximately 46,000 Haitians and Haitian-Americans living across the state and over half in the Boston metropolitan area. Additionally, Massachusetts is home to more than 4,700 Haitians with Temporary Protected Status.

• On November 21, 2021, Rep. Pressley and Senator Elizabeth Warren led the Massachusetts congressional delegation on a letter to the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) calling on them to coordinate with the government agencies of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to assist newly arrived families from Haiti. 
• On October 18, 2021, Rep. Pressley, and Haiti Caucus Co-Chairs Reps. Val Demings (FL-10), Yvette Clarke (NY-09), and Andy Levin (MI-09) issued a statement following the kidnapping of American and Canadian missionaries in Haiti.
• On October 18, 2021, Rep. Pressley issued a statement on the civil rights complaint filed by Haitian families demanding a federal investigation into the heinous actions perpetrated by federal officials at the border.
• On October 22, 2021, Rep. Pressley, along with Oversight Chairwoman Carolyn B. Maloney, Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD), and Reps. Rashida Tlaib (MI-13), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14), and Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), sent a letter to Troy A. Miller, the Acting Administrator of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), demanding a briefing and answers regarding press reports of the inhumane treatment of migrants in Del Rio, Texas, by Border Patrol agents on horseback. 
• On September 17, 2021, Rep. Pressley and Congresswoman Nydia M. Velázquez (NY-07) led 52 of their colleagues calling on the Biden Administration to immediately halt deportations to Haiti and take urgent action to address the concerns of the Haitian Diaspora after a 7.2 magnitude earthquake devastated Haiti.
• On August 14, 2021, Rep. Pressley Yvette Clarke (NY-09), Andy Levin (MI-09) and Val Demings (FL-10) and Mondaire Jones (NY-17) released a statement regarding the recent earthquake in Haiti.
• On July 14, 2021, Rep. Pressley and Haiti Caucus Co-Chairs Reps. Yvette Clarke (NY-09), Andy Levin (MI-09) and Val Demings (FL-10) sent a letter to U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas calling on him to take a series of steps to support the Haitian diaspora amid ongoing political turmoil in Haiti.
• In July 2021, the Reps. Pressley, Clarke, Demings and Levin issued a statement condemning the assassination of President Moïse and calling for swift and decisive action to bring political stability and peace to Haiti and the Haitian people.
• In May 2021, on Haitian Flag Day, Reps. Pressley, Levin, Clarke and Demings announced the formation of the House Haiti Caucus, a Congressional caucus dedicated to pursuing a just foreign policy that puts the needs and aspirations of the Haitian people first.

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