a1835: Fw: Coalition Builds to Fight Bush Over Move to Detain Haitians (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Max Blanchet <MaxBlanchet@worldnet.att.net>


> The Wall Street Journal
> April 29, 2002
>
> POLITICS AND POLICY
> 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.com1
>
> URL for this article:
> http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB1020032275925549520.djm,00.html
>
>
> Updated April 29, 2002
>
>
> Copyright 2002 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved
>
>
>
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