Congressional Black Caucus members, black leaders and ousted Haitian Pres Aristide praised the Clinton administration for allowing Haitian refugees to be processed with a hearing on US ships and third country refugee centers.
While six Haitian nations were arrested and charged with orchestrating the boat ride where 235 Haitians waded to a Florida shoreline, Rep Danny K. Davis (D-IL) and the Congressional Black Caucus on Oct 3, 2002 called on President Bush to intervene in the crisis. Rather than processing the Haitians and granting them political asylum, immigration officials said the 235 will be detained for months.
Discusses the deportation of foreign-born youth with criminal convictions to Haiti, other Caribbean countries, and Central America, based on 1996 laws allowing the US Immigration and Naturalization Service to deny due process to non-citizens.
-, An editorial asserts that the Chicago Defender joins the Congressional Black Caucus, the Miami Branch of the NAACP and Rep Carrie Meek in denouncing a Bush administration directive requiring INS officials to arbitrarily detain Haitian refugees seeking asylum in the US.
Why are Cubans and Chinese more at risk in their respective countries than Haitians from Haiti? When, last have you read about a revolution in Cuba where so many people lost their lives on a daily basis? This goes ditto for China. Apart from the conflict which took place in Tiamminen Square, a couple of years ago, there's been no other outward display of political persecution. In Cuba, there's always been a movement on from those in exile to recapture Cuba from Castro. For this reason anyone coming from Cuba has been welcomed in the U.S. with opened arms.
The TPS designation for Haiti will remain in effect through July 22, but Haitian nationals who have continuously resided in the U.S. since Jan. 12, 2010 must file their applications for TPS no later than Jan. 18. Failure to submit the required applications with any required fees and the biometrie fee, or a properly documented fee waiver request, will result in the rejection of the application. TPS was granted to Haitians following the devastating earthquake of Jan. 12, 2010, which claimed over 200,000 lives in Haiti.
A country may qualify for TPS due to the following conditions: ongoing armed conflict (such as civil war), an environmental disaster (such as earthquake or hurricane) or other extraordinary and temporary conditions. In light of the massive earthquake that took place in Haiti on Jan. 12 when thousands were presumed and then confirmed dead, Haiti became a candidate for TPS. "A lot of people don't have the money for the application and so that remains the primary obstacle for them," [Gepsie M. Metellus] said. "Although there is a fee waiver [for which some are eligible], it is a 'process' and it is frustrating."
"That's terrific news," she added. "We're hopeful that Haitians wont be sent back until the country has had a chance to recover." [Kendrick Meek], who represents Miami, said Haiti "over-qualifies" for TPS, bestowed when the U.S. government determines eligible nationals are temporarily unable to safely return to their home country because of ongoing conflicts, environmental disasters or other "extraordinary and temporary conditions. [Alcee L. Hastings], who represents the city of Miramar, north of Miami, said, in his letter to [George W. Bush], that Haiti can "hardly sustain the lives of those currently living within its borders. "How can we also expect it to contend with the repatriation of the very people who left Haiti in desperation and who, through remittances, can aid in the nation's recovery efforts?" he asked.
The State Department revealed that an estimated 30,000 undocumented Haitians face deportation to their homeland. [Hillary Clinton], however, said the U.S. will look closely at the issue "and try to come up with some appropriate responses to the challenges posed." A large number of legislators and immigration advocates have been calling on the Obama administration to grant TPS to Haitians as the U.S. has done for other countries, such as Honduras and Nicaragua. Last month, two prominent U.S. Democratic senators - Charles Schumer of New York, chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on Immigration, Refugees and Border, and Patrick Leahy of Vermont, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee wrote U.S. President Barack Obama, expressing deep concern about the status of Haitians here.