Refugees

Largest Single-Day Repatriation of Haitian Refugees: 801 Returned to Port-au-Prince

Strategic Insights

Jul 10, 1994 — 2 min read

The U.S. Coast Guard conducted a massive repatriation of Haitian refugees on Monday, returning 801 people to Port-au-Prince after they were denied political asylum in the United States. This operation more than doubles the previous record of 408 people repatriated in a single day, set just last Friday. The repatriations were conducted in two stages, with 401 migrants returned in the morning and 400 more in the afternoon, with no reported problems.

Key Takeaways:

The repatriation of 801 Haitian refugees on Monday was the largest single-day operation in U.S. history, nearly doubling the previous record of 408 people.
The refusals of asylum were made during preliminary hearings conducted at the Guantanamo Navy Base in Cuba.
U.S. officials stated that those returned to Haiti had voluntarily been repatriated, but Attorney Steve Forester of the Haitian Refugee Center in Miami claimed the repatriations were not voluntary, and that the U.S. was trying to discourage more from leaving Haiti.
The repatriation process was conducted in two stages, with 401 migrants returned in the morning and 400 more in the afternoon.
The operation was necessary due to the overcrowding of processing facilities at the Guantanamo Bay base and aboard the U.S. Navy ship Comfort anchored off Jamaica, which had over 15,000 Haitians, far exceeding its capacity of 12,500.
The Coast Guard had rescued 14,085 Haitians from the Windward Passage in the first 10 days of July, breaking the previous monthly record of 13,053 set in May 1992.
The total number of Haitian migrants rescued by the U.S. to date in 1994 is 22,447, and is nearing the annual record of 31,401 set in 1992.

Statistics:

Total number of Haitian refugees repatriated on Monday: 801
Previous record of Haitian refugees repatriated in a single day: 408
Number of Haitians rescued by the U.S. Coast Guard in the first 10 days of July: 14,085
Total number of Haitians rescued by the U.S. to date in 1994: 22,447
Annual record of Haitians rescued by the U.S.: 31,401 (set in 1992)

Sources:

"MIAMI, July 11 The Coast Guard repatriated 801 refugees to Port-au-Prince Monday..."