Haitians Enter US in Record Numbers as They Flee Brutal Violence

Behind Donald Trump’s recent political rhetoric about Haitian migrants is a sobering reality: Fleeing horrific gang violence and crushing hunger, people from the embattled Caribbean nation are flocking to the US in record numbers.

US Customs and Border Protection recorded 220,798 “encounters” with Haitians in the fiscal year ended Sept. 30, which are based on counts of people using certain legal pathways into the US as well as those apprehended trying to get in. The figures are up 35% from the previous year and are the highest in at least a decade, according to data released this week.

The ...