Give Haitians temporary stay

By
Jean-Robert LaFortune                                                    Read Spanish Version

From
Letters to The Miami Herald

After
years in President Bush’s political wilderness, Haitian-American
advocates are poised to begin a dialogue with a friendlier and more
humane administration now that President Obama has taken office.

Securing
Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haitian nationals in the United
States is one of our top priorities.

It
deserves immediate attention since it can be implemented through an
executive order.

Advocates
were told that the Bush administration’s refusal to grant TPS was
because it feared a potential exodus of Haitians to Florida.

In
November 2001, then-U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft arbitrarily
and secretly, implemented an indefinite detention policy regarding
Haitian refugees; in May 2002, he tagged Haitian migrants as
presenting a national-security risk in the U.S. war against
terrorism.

In
February 2004, after the forced departure of President Jean-Bertrand
Aristide, Haiti became a killing field for many of its citizens. Bush
instructed the U.S. Coast Guard to summarily repatriate Haitians
intercepted at sea, even though this action may have violated the
1967 United Nations Protocol prohibiting the principle of refoulement
— repatriation.

Since
2003, intense and constant community outcry for the Bush
administration to do right by Haitian nationals was to no avail. That
administration’s assessment and fear of a Haitian exodus were wrong.

In
October 1998, when the Clinton administration granted ”deferred
enforcement departure” to Haitian nationals, there was no exodus of
boat people to Florida. In addition, an analysis of U.S Coast Guard
interception of Haitian migrants during the past three decades
indicates that political turmoil is the key factor that spurs waves
of Haitians fleeing to other countries in the region.

Granting
TPS will help achieve a level of financial stability to Haiti, since
Haitians in the United States can sustain their homeland more
efficiently through remittances. Haitian President Rene Preval is
right that his government cannot continue to accept the deportees
because of the calamity caused by last year’s tropical storms. Other
countries, such as Canada, have halted the deportation of Haitian
nationals until conditions improve. It is reasonable and humane that
our new president grant TPS to approximately 10,000 Haitian nationals
already in the United States.

Jean-Robert
LaFortune is chair of the
Haitian-American
Grassroots Coalition (HAGC) in Miami.

http://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/letters/story/870245.html

(Editor’s
Note:
Jean-Robert
has been a friend for almost a decade. He is a tireless worker on
behalf of the Haitian community in Miami and the U.S. Progreso Weekly
stands by him and the HAGC in their quest for TPS. Progreso Weekly’s
doors will always be open to Jean-Robert and HAGC.)