In Chile, Haitians grow weary of waiting, eye journey to US – By Eva Vergara (Associated Press) / Oct 14 2021
SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) — The 37-year-old Haitian says not a day goes by in which he doesn’t think of leaving Chile, like the multitudes who have grown frustrated and headed north toward the United States.
He feels caught in a vicious circle: He was laid off three months ago and can’t get a new job without a valid identity card, but he can’t get his card renewed without an employment contract.
The government of President Sebastián Piñera has been tightening laws on migrants and Pierre — who declined to give his last name because he didn’t want to put his residency bid at risk — said it seems to be acting “so that we Haitians get tired of the country.”
Tens of thousands of Haitians came to Chile in recent years, fleeing disasters and poverty while taking advantage of relaxed visa rules and a booming economy in Chile. But a tighter job market and newly imposed bureaucratic barriers have led many to seek better opportunities in the U.S., despite a crackdown that followed the appearance of a border camp holding more than 14,000 people in Del Rio, Texas.
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