The First Migration Peak: Immigrating to the US

The flow of migration of Haitians to the US has always been dependent on the political conditions in Haiti at the time. In the late 1970’s the first substantial spike in Haitian “Boat People” arriving to the US took place as a result of the desperate plight of the Haitian population under the rule of the dictator, Francois Duvalier (or “Papa Doc”). Despite the US’s disinterest in accepting these refugees seeking asylum, crude sailboats continued to arrive overflowing with Haitians looking for safety. Even after Papa Doc’s death, his son, Jean-Claude (or “Baby Doc”) continued his violent reign until 1986 when he was finally overthrown. As a result, immigration to the US went down until the next wave of political chaos that came only a few years later.