Mr. Valcin was Failed by Two Governments–Part III–June 3, 2021

  

Mr. Valcin’s Kids (Photo submitted from Valcin family)

Mr. Valcin died a few days ago. He had a bad heart which had been weakened by a couple of leaky valves. However, he had been accepted for heart surgery in the United States which was to be performed pro bono—no taxpayer dollars would be used. In the end, Mr. Valcin was not granted a visa for travel by the US Consulate in Port au Prince and so he remained in Haiti and succumbed to his illness. 

Mr. Valcin’s funeral will be held tomorrow in the outskirts of the capital. He and his wife and two small children lived in the mountains above Port au Prince.

I think that Mr. Valcin was failed by the governments of Haiti and the United States. 

We all know that the Haitian government does not support its 11 million people. This is nothing new. Haitian people live their entire lives without good governance or infrastructure such as roads, electricity, clean water, education, and a health care system. And when people lack the basics, they remain as helpless as infants and are unable to live full and happy lives. 

Mr. Valcin needed heart surgery to save his life. And this surgery could not be safely done in Haiti. He became a cardiac cripple at a young age and was unable to work as a teacher any longer or support his family. 

Last year Haitian Hearts helped him apply for a nonimmigrant (B2) visa to travel to the United States for heart surgery. He had a 5-year visa in 2010, and after the earthquake in January of that year, he traveled to the United States only to return to Haiti in three months.  I did not envision Mr. Valcin having trouble obtaining another visa–especially for life-saving heart surgery in 2020. 

Mr. Valcin had his documents in order when he applied for his visa. These included letters from the heart surgeon and medical center in the United States, his letter from his employer in Haiti, and his bank account statement from Port au Prince. He also had letters from the host family in the United States verifying their financial ability to care for him pre and post-operatively. Thus, he had evidence of his strong attachments to Haiti aside from his wife and children. And Haitian Hearts was going to fly him to and from the United States. 

The American Consulate granted Mr. Valcin a very brief interview with his first application last year. And he told me that he was never even asked to show some of his documents which showed his attachments to Haiti. He also told me that he was not given a reason why his application for a visa was denied. And when I asked the Consulate why his visa was denied, the Consulate told me that for privacy reasons they were not free to give out this information. 

After he was refused this visa in September 2020, Mr. Valcin applied a second time for a nonimmigrant visa but was not even granted an interview the second time. I asked the Consulate how he could improve his application but was not told by the Consulate what he was lacking in order to obtain a visa. 

And as mentioned in a previous post, we did apply in January for a visa through the Humanitarian Parole at the United States Immigration and Citizenship Services and their decision was still pending at the time of his death. 

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Several weeks ago the Biden administration granted Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to tens of thousands of Haitians currently living in the United States.  

On May 31 the Newsday Editorial Board had this to say regarding TPS for Haitians–

“The program (TPS) allows recipients to live and work in the U.S. provisionally and be safeguarded from deportation.

In Haiti’s case, designation for the program came in 2010 in response to the catastrophic effects of a 7.0-magnitude earthquake, and as of the end of 2020 some 54,000 Haitians were beneficiaries of the program. That’s the third-largest contingent among the nations currently designated for TPS, behind El Salvador and Honduras, victims of earthquakes and a hurricane in 2001 and 1998.

 

“Critics of the program say the repeat extensions turn a temporary effort into a near-permanent one, and that the bad conditions that caused people to flee to the U.S. are years in the past. That’s a weak argument for Haiti, which is experiencing social unrest, human rights abuses and deep poverty amid a constitutional crisis, all during the COVID-19 pandemic. It does not make sense to uproot thousands and put them in potential danger.”

In other words, TPS protects people from being deported to dangerous conditions that exist in their home countries.  

The following paragraphs are from an email from the US Embassy in Port au Prince from June 1, two days after Mr. Valcin died. The email is an advisory to US citizens traveling to Haiti or already in Haiti–

From: <wardenpap@state.gov>

Date: Tue, Jun 1, 2021 at 3:24 PM

Subject: Travel Advisory: Do not travel to Haiti due to kidnapping, crime, civil unrest, and COVID-19. 

 

Do not travel to Haiti due to kidnapping, crime, civil unrest, and COVID-19. Read the Department of State’s COVID-19 page before you plan any international travel. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued a Level 4 Travel Health Notice for Haiti, indicating a very high level of COVID-19 in the country. Visit the Embassy’s COVID-19 page for more information on COVID-19 in Haiti.

 

Country Summary:

 

Kidnapping is widespread and victims regularly include U.S. citizens. Kidnappers may use sophisticated planning or take advantage of unplanned opportunities, and even convoys have been attacked. Kidnapping cases often involve ransom negotiations and U.S. citizen victims have been physically harmed during kidnappings. Victim’s families have paid thousands of dollars to rescue their family members. Violent crime, such as armed robbery and carjacking, is common. Travelers are sometimes followed and violently attacked and robbed shortly after leaving the Port-au-Prince international airport. Robbers and carjackers also attack private vehicles stuck in heavy traffic congestion and often target lone drivers, particularly women. As a result, the U.S. Embassy requires its personnel to use official transportation to and from the airport. Protests, demonstrations, tire burning, and roadblocks are frequent, unpredictable, and can turn violent. The U.S. government is extremely limited in its ability to provide emergency services to U.S. citizens in Haiti – assistance on site is available only from local authorities (Haitian National Police and ambulance services). Local police generally lack the resources to respond effectively to serious criminal incidents.U.S. government personnel are discouraged from walking in Port-au-Prince and other neighborhoods. Only adult family members over the age of 18 are permitted to accompany U.S. government employees assigned to the U.S. Embassy in Port-au-Prince. U.S. government personnel in Haiti are prohibited from:Visiting establishments after dark without secure, on-site parking;Using any kind of public transportation or taxis;Visiting banks and using ATMs;Driving at night;Traveling anywhere between 1:00 a.m. and 5:00 a.m.Visiting certain parts of the city at any time without prior approval and special security measures in place.Read the country information page.If you decide to travel to Haiti:See the U.S. Embassy’s web page regarding COVID-19. Visit the CDC’s webpage on Travel and COVID-19. Avoid demonstrations and crowds. Do not attempt to drive through roadblocks.Arrange airport transfers and hotels in advance, or have your host meet you upon arrival.Do not provide personal information to unauthorized individuals (i.e. people without official uniforms or credentials) located in the immigration, customs, or other areas inside or near any airports.If you are being followed as you leave the airport, drive to the nearest police station immediately.Travel by vehicle to minimize walking in public.Travel in groups of at least two people.Always keep vehicle doors locked and windows closed when driving.Exercise caution and alertness, especially when driving through markets and other traffic congested areas.Do not physically resist any robbery attempt.Purchase travel insurance and medical evacuation insurance ahead of time.

Does the above attest to Haiti being a stable country? After traveling to Haiti and working in Haiti during the past 40 years, I have never seen so much dysfunction and chaos and danger in Haiti as I am seeing now. 

And if all of the above potential danger exists for American citizens considering travel to Haiti, and for Haitians now in the United States and covered under TPS, would this danger not also extend to Mr. Valcin who was living amidst this daily insanity with a very bad heart? Should Mr. Valcin have been denied a nonimmigrant visa by the US Consulate for travel to the United States for life-saving heart surgery from one of the most dangerous and dysfunctional places on earth? 

During the past year, I have exchanged many emails with the US Embassy in Haiti regarding Mr. Valcin. In some emails I was literally begging them for his life. 

Apr 11, 2021, 9:16 AM

From John Carroll–

Dear Ambassador —- and Consul General —-,

Thank you for your email. 

Is there anything that Mr. Valcin can do to improve his chances of being granted a nonimmigrant visa to travel to the United States for heart surgery? When I ask him why he was refused a visa by the American Embassy, he states that he does not know. My understanding is that he and his wife were in the States for about 3 months in 2010 and returned to Haiti and have been there since. 

If he does not know why he was refused, how can he improve his chances with yet another application? His wife would not be traveling with him and neither would his two small children. 

And in your eyes, is the reason he is being refused a visa proportionate to Mr. Valcin remaining in Haiti and dying without heart surgery?

Sincerely, 

John Carroll

Fri, Apr 16, 2:32 PM

From the US Embassy/Port au Prince–

Dr. Carroll,

Please refer to our many previous responses to your inquiries. This visa application has been adjudicated in accordance with the Immigration and Nationality Act, it has been reviewed multiple times by consular managers, and the decision is final. We cannot continue to belabor the outcome of this case.

 Best regards,

 Consular Section

U.S. Embassy Port-au-Prince

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So, there we are. Mr. Valcin was a lovely man and a wonderful father. Why did our state department believe Mr. Valcin should not be granted a visa for life-saving heart surgery in the United States? Did they view him as a flight risk, or as someone who would illegally work in the United States? I don’t think we will ever know… and he paid for their decision with his life.

 

John A. Carroll, MD

www.haitianhearts.org