February 10, 2026

Media Contact: Communications HBA, media@haitianbridge.org

San Diego, CA. — The Haitian Bridge Alliance extends its sincere gratitude to the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and the Congressional Garifuna Caucus for convening the first-ever Afro-Latino Roundtable in the 50-year history of the CHC. This historic convening created long-overdue space for Afro-Latino communities to be centered, seen, heard, and valued. HBA co-anchored this moment following years of sustained advocacy to ensure Black and Afro-Latinx communities are not rendered invisible within broader Latinx policy spaces and to create unity. 

“This roundtable was a necessary and powerful step toward explicitly recognizing the need to recognize, center the voices and reality of Afro-Latinx communities and include non-Spanish-speaking Latinx communities—such as Haitians and Brazilians—as we plan for the future,” said HBA Executive Director Guerline Jozef. “We look forward to continued collaboration to ensure our communities are not merely acknowledged, but meaningfully included in the data, policies, and decisions that shape our lives.”

This meeting carried particular significance as we honor the legacy of Anadith Danay Reyes Álvarez, a young 8 year old Garifuna girl who dreamed of becoming a doctor but tragically died in US Customs and Border Protection (CBP)  custody in 2023 due to medical neglect—after repeatedly pleading for care. Her life and death remain a solemn reminder of what is at stake.

The Haitian Bridge Alliance stands undeterred in its commitment to make sure people of Black African descent are no longer excluded in their communities throughout the Americas, as anti- Black prejudices and racism still exist. We believe together we can create a more our shared history, ideals, centering the intersectionality of Black liberation, immigrant rights, labor and universal human rights.

ABOUT HAITIAN BRIDGE ALLIANCE

Haitian Bridge Alliance (HBA), also known as “The Bridge”, is a grassroots community organization that advocates for fair and humane immigration policies, foreign policy, and provides migrants and immigrants with humanitarian, legal, and social services, with a particular focus on Black migrants, the Haitian community, women and girls, LGBTQIA+ individuals, and survivors of torture and other human rights abuses. HBA also seeks to elevate the issues unique to Black migrants and build solidarity and a collective movement toward policy change. Anpil men chay pa lou (“Many hands make the load light”).
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