Haitians Need Not Apply
HOW CAN HAITI SURVIVE
U.S. policy grants TPS to many -- except Haitians
What is the Bush administration waiting for to grant Temporary Protected Status to Haitians in the United States? More deaths? Another devastating tropical storm? Beheadings from uncontrolled violence?
Had it been any other country, TPS would have been granted -- not just weeks ago, but more than a year ago. Tropical Storm Jeanne killed nearly 2,000 persons last month and made more than 200,000 homeless. Floods in March took another 3,000 lives. Haiti's man-made disasters have taken countless lives for years.
By statute, TPS may be offered in cases where a natural disaster results in ''a substantial but temporary disruption of living conditions'' or when ''there is an ongoing armed conflict . . . and, due to that conflict, return of nationals of that state would pose a serious threat to personal safety.'' Both criteria apply here -- and Haiti should be TPS-qualified.
In Haiti, political gangs feed violence that prevents humanitarian aid from reaching the neediest people. Men with guns control streets, and the too-few U.N. troops are unable to stop them. In this lawless climate, international aid groups withdrew from flood-ravaged Gonaives last week. In this city where so many have lost loved ones and possessions, pregnant women, children, families with muddied clothes now wait for food and water in longer lines, at greater risk.
Haiti doesn't need more homeless, jobless people. Nor is it safe for people to be returned under current conditions. Granting Haitians TPS would end their deportations to the troubled island.
Three weeks ago, Interim Prime Minister Gerard Latortue requested TPS relief for 20,000 undocumented Haitians already in the United States. With TPS, these Haitians would be able to work legally and send remittances back home to help rebuilding efforts. They would be required to return to Haiti once conditions improved. Those who arrived afterward wouldn't qualify for such status. TPS isn't an invitation to stay permanently or for other Haitians to come.
After Honduras and Nicaragua were ravaged by Hurricane Mitch in 1998, the United States allowed 90,000 of them to remain here under this protection. Nationals from other countries with fewer ties to the United States have also had TPS over the years.
Considering the Haitians' circumstances, ''it makes a lot of sense'' to stop the deportions, Gov. Jeb Bush said recently. Yet the Department of Homeland Security continues to deport Haitians. Even as Haitians were digging out of muck and searching for corpses a week after Jeanne struck, DHS's Krome facility sent 17 Haitians back.
As shocking as that was, it wasn't surprising. For unspoken reasons, the U.S. government has long treated Haitians worse than immigrants from any other country. While Cubans interdicted at sea are all interviewed by asylum officers, Haitians must pass a ''shout test'' -- that is, they are repatriated unless they cry out. The odds of a Haitian having a legitimate asylum claim heard are practically nil. Consider the numbers this summer: Of 2,000 Haitians interdicted by the U.S. Coast Guard, only three were found to have a credible fear of persecution -- this when political violence is widespread. Haitians who make it to our shores fare little better. By Bush administration mandate they must remain imprisoned until they prove their asylum claim or are deported. No other nationality is subjected to such cruel and unfair treatment.
Advocates say the U.S. policy is racist. Perhaps that is so. That many Haitians who flee are poor and uneducated likely are factors, too. Other Caribbean nations also treat Haitians poorly. None of these reasons excuses U.S. indifference to Haitian suffering.
Administration officials say that unforgiving immigration policies are necessary to deter a mass exodus from Haiti. But a floating wall of U.S. cutters only tightens the seal on the pressure cooker that is Haiti. Without doing more to curb violence and improve conditions on the island, U.S. policy could trigger just such an exodus.
South Florida's vibrant Haitian community defies stereotypes. We have welcomed Haitians, and they have enriched our collective experience. Our community will play an important role in rebuilding Haiti. TPS can provide immediate relief to an island in need.
• To let the president know what you think about this issue, send him your message online at president@whitehouse.gov or call 202-456-1111.
U.S. policy grants TPS to many -- except Haitians
What is the Bush administration waiting for to grant Temporary Protected Status to Haitians in the United States? More deaths? Another devastating tropical storm? Beheadings from uncontrolled violence?
Had it been any other country, TPS would have been granted -- not just weeks ago, but more than a year ago. Tropical Storm Jeanne killed nearly 2,000 persons last month and made more than 200,000 homeless. Floods in March took another 3,000 lives. Haiti's man-made disasters have taken countless lives for years.
By statute, TPS may be offered in cases where a natural disaster results in ''a substantial but temporary disruption of living conditions'' or when ''there is an ongoing armed conflict . . . and, due to that conflict, return of nationals of that state would pose a serious threat to personal safety.'' Both criteria apply here -- and Haiti should be TPS-qualified.
In Haiti, political gangs feed violence that prevents humanitarian aid from reaching the neediest people. Men with guns control streets, and the too-few U.N. troops are unable to stop them. In this lawless climate, international aid groups withdrew from flood-ravaged Gonaives last week. In this city where so many have lost loved ones and possessions, pregnant women, children, families with muddied clothes now wait for food and water in longer lines, at greater risk.
Haiti doesn't need more homeless, jobless people. Nor is it safe for people to be returned under current conditions. Granting Haitians TPS would end their deportations to the troubled island.
Three weeks ago, Interim Prime Minister Gerard Latortue requested TPS relief for 20,000 undocumented Haitians already in the United States. With TPS, these Haitians would be able to work legally and send remittances back home to help rebuilding efforts. They would be required to return to Haiti once conditions improved. Those who arrived afterward wouldn't qualify for such status. TPS isn't an invitation to stay permanently or for other Haitians to come.
After Honduras and Nicaragua were ravaged by Hurricane Mitch in 1998, the United States allowed 90,000 of them to remain here under this protection. Nationals from other countries with fewer ties to the United States have also had TPS over the years.
Considering the Haitians' circumstances, ''it makes a lot of sense'' to stop the deportions, Gov. Jeb Bush said recently. Yet the Department of Homeland Security continues to deport Haitians. Even as Haitians were digging out of muck and searching for corpses a week after Jeanne struck, DHS's Krome facility sent 17 Haitians back.
As shocking as that was, it wasn't surprising. For unspoken reasons, the U.S. government has long treated Haitians worse than immigrants from any other country. While Cubans interdicted at sea are all interviewed by asylum officers, Haitians must pass a ''shout test'' -- that is, they are repatriated unless they cry out. The odds of a Haitian having a legitimate asylum claim heard are practically nil. Consider the numbers this summer: Of 2,000 Haitians interdicted by the U.S. Coast Guard, only three were found to have a credible fear of persecution -- this when political violence is widespread. Haitians who make it to our shores fare little better. By Bush administration mandate they must remain imprisoned until they prove their asylum claim or are deported. No other nationality is subjected to such cruel and unfair treatment.
Advocates say the U.S. policy is racist. Perhaps that is so. That many Haitians who flee are poor and uneducated likely are factors, too. Other Caribbean nations also treat Haitians poorly. None of these reasons excuses U.S. indifference to Haitian suffering.
Administration officials say that unforgiving immigration policies are necessary to deter a mass exodus from Haiti. But a floating wall of U.S. cutters only tightens the seal on the pressure cooker that is Haiti. Without doing more to curb violence and improve conditions on the island, U.S. policy could trigger just such an exodus.
South Florida's vibrant Haitian community defies stereotypes. We have welcomed Haitians, and they have enriched our collective experience. Our community will play an important role in rebuilding Haiti. TPS can provide immediate relief to an island in need.
• To let the president know what you think about this issue, send him your message online at president@whitehouse.gov or call 202-456-1111.
posted by R7 | 10/20/2004 09:36:00 AM
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