15771: (Hermantin) Maimi Herald-Delegation to seek change in Haitian migrant policy (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: leonie hermantin <lhermantin@hotmail.com>

Posted on Wed, Jun. 04, 2003

Delegation to seek change in Haitian migrant policy
BY DAPHNE DURET
dduret@herald.com

A delegation of Florida activists and politicians will have just 48 hours to
convince leaders on Capitol Hill to begin undoing policies that have led to
what they call years of unfair treatment for Haitian immigrants.

At a send-off rally at the Stephen P. Clark Government Center on Tuesday,
leaders of the group, headed by State Rep. Rene Garcia and Miami-Dade County
Mayor Alex Penelas, vowed to help refugees trying to start a new life in the
United States.

While asylum-seekers from other countries are often released when they reach
U.S. soil, Haitians are often detained indefinitely or returned to their
home country.

Leaders said they will storm Capitol Hill with the following demands for the
Bush administration and Congress:

• Pass an amendment to the Haitian Refugee Immigration Fairness Act, a bill
passed in 1998 designed to give asylum to Haitian immigrants that
Haitian-American activist Marleine Bastien said has not been properly
enforced.

• Stop the indefinite detention of Haitian refugees who come to America.

• Support the Haiti Economic Recovery Act, designed to stimulate the Haitian
economy by allowing certain goods to be imported from the island tax-free.

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