13508: Press Release: NCHR expresses concern over arrival of 200 Haitia n refugees by boat in Florida

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Martine Caze <MCaze@nchr.org>
                                                       For Immediate Release

Contacts: Dina Paul Parks/Executive Director
 212-337-0005 ext. 11
Fiona Peck/Junior Policy Associate
212-337-0005 ext.13

NCHR expresses concern over arrival of 230 Haitian refugees by boat in
Florida

New York, October 30, 2002 - The National Coalition for Haitian Rights
(NCHR) is deeply concerned over the treatment of the 230 Haitians who
arrived off the shores of Miami on Tuesday afternoon. The refugees were
quickly detained by the Miami police and INS officials as they frantically
tried to safely make it to land. "We are truly concerned with the way these
new Haitian entrants will be treated by US authorities," said Dina Paul
Parks, NCHR's Executive Director, adding that, "unfortunately, history has
repeatedly shown how Haitians remain the only ethnic group who continue to
be treated unlawfully once in the hands of US authorities." NCHR wants to
ensure first and foremost that every single Haitian who arrived off the
coast of Miami by boat on Tuesday is safe and that US authorities comply
with US laws guaranteeing asylum seekers from all countries equal treatment
and access to due process.


Since last December, when a boat of 167 Haitians was brought to shore by the
Coast Guard, NCHR has been focusing and relentlessly working with key
allies, such as the Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center (FIAC),
Haitian-American Grassroots Coalition, Women's Commission on Refugee Women
and Children, and US Conference of Catholic Bishops, to reverse the US
Justice Department's Haitian-only detention policy which was enacted last
December. Four weeks ago, NCHR and its allies held a successful hearing in
Washington D.C. at the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary,
Subcommittee on Immigration, entitled "The Detention and Treatment of
Haitian Asylum Seekers." As a result of the hearing, Senators Kennedy and
Brownback pledged to collaborate with NCHR and its allies to put together a
joint letter to the Justice Department to call for a reversal of this unjust
policy towards Haitian asylum-seekers and would also request for a private
meeting with the key officials there.


NCHR is committed to continue working with its partners to stop the INS from
unlawfully detaining Haitians asylum-seekers and deporting them to Haiti
where they fear even greater persecution. "In light of this new incident, we
are now even more determined to renew our fight against this Haitians-only
detention and deportation policy and will push for our people's right to
fair treatment, representation, and due process," added Ms. Paul Parks.


____________________________________________________________________________
_________________________

The National Coalition for Haitian Rights (NCHR) is a nonprofit,
non-governmental organization that seeks to promote and protect the rights
of Haitian refugees and Haitian-Americans under U.S. and international law,
and to advance respect for human rights, the rule of law and support for
civil and democratic society in Haiti.



Fiona Peck
Junior Policy Associate
The National Coalition for Haitian Rights
275 Seventh Avenue, 17th Floor
New York, NY 10001
(212) 337-0005 x13
(212) 741-8749 Fax
www.nchr.org