San Juan, Mar 13 (Prensa Latina) The president of the House of Representatives of Puerto Rico, Rafael Hernández, today asked the US president, Joe Biden, for a visa exemption for Haitian and Ukrainian citizens.
“The peoples of Haiti and Ukraine are facing a major crisis, albeit for different reasons; they are going through situations that impede their best development, causing many to explore alternatives to leave their countries”, he pointed out.
The Puerto Rican deputy hopes that in this way “better living conditions for them and their families” will be achieved.
He stressed that “the humanitarian crisis that our Haitian and Ukrainian brothers are experiencing must be addressed with immediate and viable proposals, (since) the collapse of their government structures makes it urgent to assess the need to relocate their citizens to other countries.”
“Even when we recognize the impossibility of putting an end to crises immediately, this does not prevent us from seeking alternatives aimed at exploring concrete solutions to these problems,” Hernández argued.
The deputy from the Popular Democratic Party (PPD) explained that the United States Department of Homeland Security has recently taken steps to include the Dominican Republic in the H-2B visa program, which allows North American employers to hire non-regular temporary workers abroad. agricultural.
He added that Ukraine is going through a crisis of survival due to the military operation led by Russian President Vladimir Putin, so his letter aims to explore alternatives and propose a possible roadmap addressing both issues.
The leader of the deputies maintained that after the devastating hurricane María and the subsequent earthquakes in the southern part of the country, it is urgent to begin the reconstruction of Puerto Rico’s infrastructure with sufficient manpower, which is currently not available.
He explained that the flexibility provided by the inclusion of the Dominican Republic for the enjoyment of this type of visa helps its nationals to obtain a better life alternative, in addition to stopping illegal trips made by Dominicans trying to find better opportunities.
Hernández pointed out that, meanwhile, Puerto Rico manages to continue with its reconstruction efforts.
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