Latest news with #Inter-AmericanFoundation
Miami Herald
10-04-2025
- Business
- Miami Herald
Rare, good news for a Haiti in crisis: Court revives U.S. agency aid
In these times of strikingly bad news in Haiti, a whisper of good news for the country emerged from a federal courtroom in Washington, D.C. Last week, the Inter-American Foundation, IAF, a small U.S. government agency that provides grants for social and economic development to grassroots organizations in Haiti and throughout the Americas, was granted a reprieve from the devastating dismantling of the agency begun several weeks ago under the auspices of Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE. In an order in the case of Aviel v. Gor issued last Friday 4/4 in Washington by U.S. District Judge Loren L. Alikhan, the IAF was granted a preliminary injunction restoring the agency's president, Sara Aviel, who had been abruptly and illegally removed by DOGE, to her leadership position. The court order also declared void and without any legal effect the actions taken by DOGE. These actions taken in February included the replacement of the IAF's Senate-confirmed board of directors by a single legally specious appointment and the firing of the IAF's 40-member entire staff — and unilaterally terminating all the agency's grant agreements and contracts. This court-ordered reprieve will enable the agency to resume its work — at least for now — of assisting disadvantaged people throughout Haiti. Since it was created by Congress in 1969 to support the hypothesis that community-led development is more effective than top-down undertakings designed and controlled by distant authorities, the IAF has supported over 6,000 local organizations throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. The IAF's grant programs in Haiti that DOGE had slashed, as outlined in a report released on Friday by Church World Service, had been serving 81,493 Haitians in locally led development initiatives. This includes 14,500 small farmers who lost access to seeds, tools and training provided through an IAF grant; another 15,000 Haitians who lost access to medical care; and 8,100 solidarity group members whose access to credit was significantly reduced. Now, there is a glimmer of hope that support for these and other programs in the beleaguered Caribbean nation can be restored to a nation in crisis. This whisper of good news for Haiti reverberates throughout countries in the Western Hemisphere where, in fiscal year 2024 alone, economic development efforts conceived and managed by local, community-based organizations and supported by the IAF, benefited more than 4.6 million people through 425 grant agreements. These FY 24 grant agreements with a total IAF investment of $24 million generated $43 million in counterpart support committed by the IAF's grantee partners. Those partners are disadvantaged men, women and children in Honduras, El Salvador, Colombia, Ecuador, Jamaica and other hemispheric countries. Detailed information on these partnerships was available on the IAF's website but was taken down by DOGE. In the so-called 'development industry' of multi-million dollar budgets and enormous projects that often fail to deliver, the IAF stands out for its small and clearly articulated grants, low overhead costs and support of sustainable efforts undertaken by the people of the hemisphere. Its 2024 budget was $60 million. Two days after Justice Alikhan announced her decision granting the IAF's reprieve from being shuttered, and its funding slashed, the Department of Justice announced it would appeal. Depending on the court's ruling the whisper of good news may be short-lived, although they too can appeal. Equally short-lived could be restoring that important glimmer of support, relief and hope that the work of the IAF has offered to not only tens of thousands of Haitians suffering under the weight of poverty and violence, but to millions of peaceful and hard-working citizens of Latin America and the Caribbean. These deserving people surely merit not just a resumption of the work of the U.S. government organization that supports them but for that support to be augmented considerably. It is for this reason that Justice Alikhan's decision must stand. Robert Maguire worked as the IAF's representative for Haiti and the Caribbean from 1979–1999 and is a retired professor of international development studies at George Washington University in Washington, D.C.
Yahoo
04-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Judge blocks Trump's takeover of Inter-American Foundation
A federal judge blocked President Trump's takeover of a federal agency that invests in Latin America and the Caribbean, finding Friday that he likely went beyond his authority. U.S. District Judge Loren AliKhan ordered the administration indefinitely reinstate Sara Aviel, the ousted president of the Inter-American Foundation (IAF), and stop various other efforts to gut the foundation as her lawsuit proceeds. 'Because accepting Defendants' arguments would leave parts of the Constitution in tatters, Ms. Aviel has shown a substantial likelihood of success on the merits,'said AliKhan, an appointee of former President Biden. Established by Congress in 1969 as a nonprofit corporation, the IAF funds efforts to combat poverty, migration and instability in Latin America and the Caribbean. The administration began efforts to gut the agency on Feb. 19, when Trump signed an order directing the IAF and several other groups be 'eliminated to the maximum extent consistent with applicable law.' AliKhan's ruling comes weeks after another judge declined to block Trump's takeover of the U.S. African Development Foundation, another agency listed in the order. Within days of Trump's directive, the administration removed Aviel and the IAF board as the Department of Government Efficiency injected itself into the foundation. At a court hearing Wednesday, the government said the IAF now has only one employee and one active grant remaining. Trump appointed Peter Marocco, a State Department official who has played a central role in the administration's efforts to dismantle the U.S. Agency for International Development, as the IAF's sole acting board member. The judge's order Friday effectively reverses Marocco's takeover of the agency, blocking him from serving on the board and unwinding all actions he has taken, including any grants that were frozen. The Justice Department had insisted both Aviel's termination and Marocco's appointment were legal, part of a broader theory advanced by the administration that the president has expansive authority to hire and fire officials across the federal bureaucracy. In her ruling, AliKhan called the logical extension of the argument 'frightening.' 'Then the President could appoint an 'acting' board member indefinitely without ever needing to seek the advice and consent of the Senate,' AliKhan wrote. 'That reading eviscerates the Appointments Clause. When the court pressed Defendants' counsel for a limiting principle at oral argument, Defendants had no response — convincing or otherwise.' The government also asserted Aviel wasn't entitled to an injunction at the early stage of the case because she hadn't made the necessary showing of irreparable harm, pointing to two recent appeals rulings that cleared the way for Trump to fire other federal agency leaders. The judge rejected that argument, too. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
04-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Upheaval at Inter-American Foundation slashes critical aid in Haiti, report says
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Thousands of Haitians have lost access to resources including seeds, loans and medical care after the Trump administration began to dismantle a U.S. foundation that helped the troubled Caribbean country, according to a new report issued Friday. Church World Service, a U.S.-based aid organization, said the Inter-American Foundation had 27 grants with partners across Haiti worth more than $10 million that targeted nearly 82,000 people. 'Cutting these programs, especially in this way, is cruel,' said Joel Malebranche, director of international programs at Church World Service. 'Farmers counted on American support, and we're now turning our backs at the start of the planting season. The report shows that these actions are going to lead to more children facing acute malnutrition and in some cases the loss of life.' The report was released the same day that a U.S. judge agreed to block the Trump administration from dismantling the Inter-American Foundation, an autonomous agency that distributes grant money to community development groups in the Caribbean and Latin America. But the upheaval at the foundation that began earlier this year already resulted in an estimated 500 to 600 Haitians being denied medical care each month; in some 14,500 Haitians losing access to seed loans, tools and other services; and in 40% fewer loans being available, according to the report. 'That harm can't be undone,' said Alex Morse, deputy regional representative for Latin America and the Caribbean at Christian World Service. 'There's no alternative for a lot of these families.' He said that despite Friday's ruling, concerns remain. 'What we've seen this administration do with other similar court rulings, they restore the program…but they still don't send the funding,' he said. Some 230 workers across Haiti have already been laid off, with 17 organizations forced to lay off their entire staff, according to the report. The report, which was based on a rapid analysis, stated that it was difficult to determine the depth of impact that the dismantling of the Inter-American Foundation would have on grantees in Haiti. The grants helped farmers by providing them with seeds, tools and training in a country where some 2 million people are on the brink of starvation and nearly half of its more than 11 million inhabitants face high levels of acute food insecurity. The grants also helped provide routine health services and care for patients with serious illnesses and emergencies in a country where more than 4,200 people have been reported killed from July to February, and another 1,356 were injured, according to the U.N. In addition, the grants helped finance loans, especially for women in rural areas, the report stated. The dismantling of the Inter-American Foundation, coupled with the closure of USAID, has many worried about the future of Haiti, which is heavily dependent on foreign aid. Morse said Church World Service is trying to identify other organizations who can provide help across Haiti, especially in its northwest region, which has struggled through droughts and intense flooding. Haiti is mired in political turmoil and wracked by violence unleashed by gangs that control at least 85% of the capital, Port-au-Prince. Gangs also have pillaged other regions, recently attacking the central city of Mirebalais, where they stormed a prison and released more than 500 inmates. Meanwhile, there are no commercial flights going to and from Haiti's main international airport in the capital, with the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration extending a ban on flights until Sept. 8 following a surge in gang violence.
Washington Post
04-04-2025
- Politics
- Washington Post
Upheaval at Inter-American Foundation slashes critical aid in Haiti, report says
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Thousands of Haitians have lost access to resources including seeds, loans and medical care after the Trump administration began to dismantle a U.S. foundation that helped the troubled Caribbean country, according to a new report issued Friday. Church World Service, a U.S.-based aid organization, said the Inter-American Foundation had 27 grants with partners across Haiti worth more than $10 million that targeted nearly 82,000 people.
The Independent
04-04-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Upheaval at Inter-American Foundation slashes critical aid in Haiti, report says
Thousands of Haitians have lost access to resources including seeds, loans and medical care after the Trump administration began to dismantle a U.S. foundation that helped the troubled Caribbean country, according to a new report issued Friday. Church World Service, a U.S.-based aid organization, said the Inter-American Foundation had 27 grants with partners across Haiti worth more than $10 million that targeted nearly 82,000 people. 'Cutting these programs, especially in this way, is cruel,' said Joel Malebranche, director of international programs at Church World Service. 'Farmers counted on American support, and we're now turning our backs at the start of the planting season. The report shows that these actions are going to lead to more children facing acute malnutrition and in some cases the loss of life.' The report was released the same day that a U.S. judge agreed to block the Trump administration from dismantling the Inter-American Foundation, an autonomous agency that distributes grant money to community development groups in the Caribbean and Latin America. But the upheaval at the foundation that began earlier this year already resulted in an estimated 500 to 600 Haitians being denied medical care each month; in some 14,500 Haitians losing access to seed loans, tools and other services; and in 40% fewer loans being available, according to the report. 'That harm can't be undone,' said Alex Morse, deputy regional representative for Latin America and the Caribbean at Christian World Service. 'There's no alternative for a lot of these families.' He said that despite Friday's ruling, concerns remain. 'What we've seen this administration do with other similar court rulings, they restore the program…but they still don't send the funding,' he said. Some 230 workers across Haiti have already been laid off, with 17 organizations forced to lay off their entire staff, according to the report. The report, which was based on a rapid analysis, stated that it was difficult to determine the depth of impact that the dismantling of the Inter-American Foundation would have on grantees in Haiti. The grants helped farmers by providing them with seeds, tools and training in a country where some 2 million people are on the brink of starvation and nearly half of its more than 11 million inhabitants face high levels of acute food insecurity. The grants also helped provide routine health services and care for patients with serious illnesses and emergencies in a country where more than 4,200 people have been reported killed from July to February, and another 1,356 were injured, according to the U.N. In addition, the grants helped finance loans, especially for women in rural areas, the report stated. The dismantling of the Inter-American Foundation, coupled with the closure of USAID, has many worried about the future of Haiti, which is heavily dependent on foreign aid. Morse said Church World Service is trying to identify other organizations who can provide help across Haiti, especially in its northwest region, which has struggled through droughts and intense flooding. Haiti is mired in political turmoil and wracked by violence unleashed by gangs that control at least 85% of the capital, Port-au-Prince. Gangs also have pillaged other regions, recently attacking the central city of Mirebalais, where they stormed a prison and released more than 500 inmates. Meanwhile, there are no commercial flights going to and from Haiti's main international airport in the capital, with the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration extending a ban on flights until Sept. 8 following a surge in gang violence.
