In his farewell address as outgoing Caucus chair, U.S. Representative Elijah E. Cummings (D-Md.) expressed his gratitude for the opportunity to serve as chairman during the 108th Congress and praised [Melvin L. Watt]'s intellect, skill, and balanced approach to solving today's public policy challenges. The new officers of the CBC for the 109th Congress are: Watt, chair; U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown, 1st vice chair; U.S. Rep. Carolyn C. Kilpatrick, 2nd vice chair; U.S. Rep. Danny K. Davis, secretary; and U.S. Rep. Barbara Lee, whip. "We have to have dialogue, and we're trying to create opportunities for that dialogue to take place," said Watt, who admitted that it's hard sometimes for the CBC to take aggressive positions in the areas of trade because of differing views among its own constituents. "We have not been aggressive in the area of trade, advocating one trade policy over another, as we have on some of the more core issues."
From the United States' perspective, it is very, very important for the (President George W) Bush administration to understand the location and the reality of the Caribbean's small economies. You cannot ignore them or you will have problems. You have somebody like (Venezuelan President) Hugo Chavez in the (Caribbean) region that is giving them (the U.S.) a headache. The (U.S.) better fortify the small countries or they will go over to whoever is helping them. People must survive and people must live. For the Caribbean in particular, it is a historical event. We are meeting as a Caribbean people. We seem to be sharing the same concerns every other CARICOMmember shares. From the U.S. standpoint, I really don't know because a lot of the feedback that we've had from our heads of state, we've heard this before... over the years and I'm not sure this is any different. The only thing that might be a little different now is the deportation of criminals to our shores and I don't believe that the U.S. does not know what the implication of that is. We are always seeking financial support from them, so to send us people who have been convicted for crimes that we don't have in the islands, somebody, somewhere, must know.
Washington, DC: Latin American Program, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars
Location:
African American Research Center, Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Notes:
33 p, One of several essays published in a series of pamphlets entitled "Focus:
Caribbean." Three other essays dealing with particular Caribbean nations and with migrations to the United States are available from the Wilson Center. These are: Washington. Wayne S. Smith, former U.S. ambassador to Cuba, "Castro's Cuba: Soviet Power or Nonaligned?"; Michel-Rolph Trouillet on "Nation, State, and Society in Haiti, 1804—1984"; and Evelyne Hubert Stephens and John D. Stephens on "Jamaica's Democratic Socialist Experience."
The arrests came as authorities investigated the boat accident involving Haitian, Jamaican and Bahamian migrants. The U.S. Coast Guard said four people were killed and 11 rescued after the boat carrying the Caribbean migrants capsized. The fatal voyage reportedly began in The Bahamas, and ended when U.S. Coast Guard crews rescued the survivors. The criminal complaint said six of the Caribbean migrants interviewed by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security identified Davis and [George Lewis] as the alleged smugglers.
