Xenophobia and Nativism against Haitian Immigrants in Brazil and Chile

The 2010 earthquake in Port-au-Prince, Haiti led to a mass exodus of Haitians from the economically devasted country. Then in 2016, Hurricane Matthew contributed further to the continued emigration from Haiti. This chapter focuses on the xenophobia and nativism faced by Haitian immigrants in Brazil and Chile, which are the two major recipients of the exodus in South America. The administrations of Chilean President Sebastian Piñera, who ran on a platform of stemming illegal immigration, and Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who referred to immigrants from Haiti as the “scum of the world” made the experiences of Haitian migrants difficult. This chapter documents the discrimination that Haitians face from government officials and the public in both Portuguese-speaking Brazil and Spanish-speaking Chile due to being predominantly French Creole-speaking. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, Haitians had been portrayed by the Brazilian news media as being infected with HIV. The dehumanization and discrimination, along with increasing unemployment and poverty, led many Haitians to leave Brazil and Chile and to undertake a dangerous journey to the US–Mexican border in hopes of better prospects. This chapter concludes with an examination of the consequences of xenophobia and nativism against Haitian immigrants in Brazil and Chile for US immigration.