a1810: Wall Street Journal Coalition Builds to Fight Bush Over Move to Detain Haitians (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Stanley  Lucas <slucas@iri.org>

POLITICS AND POLICY
April 19, 2002
Coalition Builds to Fight Bush
Over Move to Detain Haitians

Critics See Discrimination
In Recent INS Directive
By MARJORIE VALBRUN
Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL


WASHINGTON -- Black lawmakers and civil-rights groups have joined forces with immigrant-advocacy groups to fight a Bush administration directive requiring immigration officials in South Florida to detain Haitian refugees seeking political asylum in the U.S.

Activists have filed a lawsuit and are organizing protests over the order, which doesn't apply to refugees of other nationalities, who are routinely released by the Immigration and Naturalization Service pending resolution of their claims. Critics also accuse the INS of changing asylum rules to give political cover to Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, the president's brother, whose re-election campaign this fall could be hurt by an influx of Haitian refugees.

The INS directive instructs immigration officials to detain Haitian refugees who are deemed by INS officers to have plausible asylum claims; in the past, such people could be released to relatives or sponsors while pursuing their claims. The policy, which applies only in South Florida and is a departure from standard INS practice, prohibits the release of any Haitian refugee without the express approval of INS headquarters.

The policy was implemented Dec. 14, 11 days after a boatload of 167 Haitians was intercepted by the Coast Guard off the Florida coast. The Haitians were taken to Miami, where they were to be permitted to apply for political asylum.

The INS said the directive was necessary to deter thousands of other Haitians from attempting to come to Florida illegally on dangerously flimsy boats, a problem that plagued the first Bush administration and roiled the state in the past.

Officials said they began noticing in November that the number of Haitians picked up at sea was steadily rising. That month, 350 were picked up, compared with 96 during the prior three months combined.

The Congressional Black Caucus and the Miami branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People have written strongly worded letters to Attorney General John Ashcroft, saying they understand the administration's concerns but disagree with a policy that singles out and penalizes Haitian refugees.

Last month, Black Caucus member Rep. John Conyers (D., Mich.) visited the Florida detention centers where the Haitians are being held. Two weeks ago, the United Nations high commissioner for refugees called the policy "contrary to the norms and principles of international refugee law" and said it amounts to "arbitrary detention."

Rep. Carrie Meek (D., Fla.) whose district includes more Haitian-Americans than any other in the country, plans to hold a news conference in Miami Monday morning to criticize the policy.

The activists are planning demonstrations next month when President Bush is scheduled to be in Florida. "We will be denouncing the racist policy being implemented by the administration against Haitian refugees," said Jean-Robert LaFortune, president of the Miami-based Haitian-American Grassroots Coalition.

Refugee advocates sued in February seeking to force the government to release all Haitian refugees who have applied for asylum; cease using race and nationality as factors in adjudicating requests; and evaluate all pending and future requests for release on a case-by-case basis.

Citing the suit, the Justice Department and White House declined to discuss the Haitian detainees. But in court filings, the government contends the directive wasn't a formal policy change, but merely "a rule change" that "adjusts" the criteria so they "would be applied in a more restrictive manner" on a case-by-case basis.

The government said it had to act to avert another exodus of Haitian "boat people" to Florida. In recent months, there have been a number of politically motivated killings in Haiti, and the political climate on the perpetually troubled Caribbean island has continued to worsen.

"In no way did the race of these detainees influence any of these decisions," Peter Michael Becraft, acting deputy commissioner of the INS, said in a formal declaration in the lawsuit.

The NAACP disputes the government's claim, saying the U.S. interdiction policy, which requires the Coast Guard to stop and repatriate refugee boats bound for the U.S., has been successful in preventing most from reaching U.S. shores. The advocates also question why, if the policy is meant to deter refugees from coming by boat, Haitian refugees arriving at Miami International Airport also have been detained. As a result, they say the number of Haitian detainees has grown to about 270.

Write to Marjorie Valbrun at marjorie.valbrun@wsj.com