12071: Haitians protest judge's dismissal of request for asylum for detainees (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: leonie hermantin <lhermantin@hotmail.com>

Posted on Sat, May. 18, 2002

Haitians protest judge's dismissal of request for asylum for detainees
BY JACQUELINE CHARLES
jcharles@herald.com

Saying politicians in Washington -- and not the courts -- hold the keys to
freedom for hundreds of Haitian asylum-seekers held in detention, a Miami
federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit seeking their release.

In her ruling on Friday, U.S. District Judge Joan Lenard said she has no
authority to overrule the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service's
decision to indefinitely detain Haitian asylum seekers out of fear that a
release could trigger a mass exodus from Haiti or that petitioners will
disappear into the community.

'Petitioners' cry for freedom needs to be directed to those representatives
of the political branches responsible for enacting immigration laws and
policies,'' she wrote. ``In immigration matters, neither individuals nor the
court can substitute their policy perspectives for the judgments made by
executive officials.''

Lenard's decision was met with disappointment throughout Miami's Haitian
community, where Haitians, during a planned demonstration on another
immigration issue, also protested Friday's decision. Standing across the
street from the INS building on Northwest 79th Street and Biscayne
Boulevard, some waved Haitian flags, while other held placards reading ''No
justice. No peace'' and ``Equal Treatment for Haitians.''

'This is yet another message to Haitians, `You are not welcomed here, and
your rights are not going to be protected,' '' said Cheryl Little, the lead
attorney in the case whose team of lawyers at the Florida Immigrant Advocacy
Center is representing many of the detainees. ``The judge's deference to an
agency which our government is trying to abolish because it is so
dysfunctional is most troubling.'

For months, Little and immigrant rights advocates have worked to bring
national and international attention to the plight of more than 240 Haitians
who have been held in three South Florida detention centers since Dec. 3.

In March, she and other prominent immigration attorneys filed suit,
challenging the new INS policy. The suit was filed on behalf of all the
detainees and accuses the agency of refusing to release the Haitians because
of their race and/or national origin, a charge the agency denies.

The new policy went into effect following the Dec. 3 arrival of a boatload
of 187 Haitian migrants. Until then, the INS district office released
Haitian migrants while their asylum petitions were reviewed, if they could
show a credible fear of persecution. But the policy was reversed after
senior INS officials said they fear a release could trigger a mass exodus of
Haitians from Haiti, a country in chronic political turmoil.

The INS is continuing that policy, although it has released some detainees,
including pregnant women and people who arrived at airports, on a
case-by-case basis. The plaintiffs' attorneys contend there is no evidence
of a mass exodus, and call the policy racist.

Haitian advocate Marleine Bastien said it's disturbing that Lenard issued
her ruling without having a hearing.

''That hurts,'' Bastien said.

In her ruling, Lenard acknowledges that INS reversed its policy on releasing
Haitians after INS Acting Deputy Commissioner Peter Michael Becraft
instructed the Miami office that no undocumented Haitian should be released
without the approval of INS headquarters.

''Accordingly the court must determine whether Becraft, as acting deputy
commissioner, has the authority to promulgate such a policy,'' she wrote.

Her conclusion: He does, based on the powers Congress has delegated to the
U.S. attorney general to make parole determinations. Under federal law, the
attorney general has the right to also delegate that authority to an
employee.

''The court finds that preventing the loss of life and avoiding a mass
migration from Haiti are facially legitimate and bona fide reasons for
detaining Haitian nationals who arrive by boat in South Florida,'' Lenard
wrote.

Ira Kurzban, one of the attorneys representing the Haitians, said Lenard's
decision is ``shocking and disturbing in light of the quarter-century of
discrimination against Haitians.''

Kurzban, who also represents the government of Haiti, said the U.S.
government is conducting an economic embargo against the country, by
withholding millions in international aid, then punishing people who attempt
to flee.

Though appealing the case appears to be unlikely, Little and others say they
don't plan to give up the political fight. In fact, they plan to take Lenard
up on her suggestion and on Monday will make their cries heard when
President Bush comes to town for a fundraiser.

Scores of Haitians and immigrant rights supporters are expected to converge
at 6 p.m. Monday at Ingram Park in Coral Gables, while Bush attends a dinner
at the home of developer Armando Codina.

''These cries of freedom? We hope they will be heard by our president on
Monday,'' Little said.



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