Much of the focus of U.S. Rep. Frederica Wilson, D-Fla., in recent weeks has been on Haiti as it recovers from Hurricane Matthew and deals with the first round of its presidential election.
With no opposition in the election, at the end of last month, Wilson joined U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla., in going to Haiti where they met with UN and American embassy staffers over the response to the emergency. More than 1,000 Haitians died in Hurricane Matthew last month.
The two congresswomen also met with Haitian Prime Minister Enex Jean-Charles.
“This trip to Haiti is very important to me for different reasons,” Wilson said after her trip last month. “I represent members of one of the nation’s largest Haitian-American communities. Many of my constituents still have deep ties to Haiti and are desperate for accurate accounts of the damage caused by Hurricane Matthew from sources they can trust. More important, witnessing and assessing the damage firsthand is the best way to determine the different types and levels of support Haiti will need to rebuild from this latest natural disaster and how I can advocate on the nation’s behalf as it fights to fully recover from both Hurricane Matthew and the 2010 earthquake.”
Now assured a fourth term in Congress, Wilson continued focusing on Haiti. Last week, Wilson joined Ros-Lehtinen and some congressional Democrats--including U.S. Reps. John Conyers of Michigan, Barbara Lee and Maxine Waters of California--in hosting a brief on the U.S. Agency for International Development’s (USAID) efforts in helping Haiti recover from Hurricane Matthew.
Wilson also weighed in on the close presidential election held earlier this week in Haiti. It appears a runoff between Jovenel Moise and Maryse Narcisse will be held in January.
“I know what it takes to hold an election in a developing nation like Haiti,” Wilson said. “In my view, Haiti is not ready and there may be some serious challenges to the election because there will be so many people who won’t get to vote because one, they didn’t have the appropriate credentials; two, they couldn’t get to the polling place to vote; and three, they didn’t know where their polling places are.”
Still, despite her pessimistic take before the election, Wilson praised Haitians for getting out to vote after Hurricane Matthew.
“I applaud Haiti’s citizens for finding the strength to set their struggles aside and wish them the best as they pursue the Herculean task of conducting an election in the aftermath of the hurricane,” Wilson said at the end of last week. “The sooner a new government is in place, the quicker Haiti will be able to recover from the various natural disasters it has faced and begin to grow and thrive.”
Wilson also pushed back at the Obama administration’s efforts to deport Haitians, insisting the island is not ready for them to return. She also called on expanding the Haitian Family Reunification Parole Program.
“The deportations must stop—that’s the bottom line,” Wilson insisted.
