At least 30 Haitian survivors who had been sent to the U.S. in the aftermath of the earthquake have been locked up in detention centers in Florida since their arrival. They were all evacuated too quickly for immigration processing, but have been kept in immigration custody as deportations back to Haiti have been indefinitely suspended. The New York Times reports that dealings with Haitian refugees have been varied and random, with some receiving "humanitarian parole" status, some getting tourist visas that prevent them from working, and others being kept in detention.

An Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesman Brian P. Hale said, "In order to mitigate the probability that Haitians may attempt to make a potentially deadly journey to the U.S., we clearly articulated that those who traveled to the U.S. illegally after Jan. 12 may be arrested, detained and placed in removal proceedings." However, these detainees were allegedly put on planes by the U.S. Marines and unaware that they would be detained. Advocates for the detainees are arguing to get them released to citizen relatives. The advocates wrote to the ICE, "There is no reason to spend taxpayer dollars detaining traumatized earthquake survivors who cannot be deported and who have demonstrated that they are neither a flight risk nor a danger to the community."

While detainees wait to be released, over 50 countries and international organizations have pledged $9.9 billion to rebuild Haiti. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced this means the international community has come together "dramatically and in solidarity with the Haitian people," according to WCBS. Former President Clinton also announced the United States' pledge of $1.15 billion over the next two years.