17124: (Hermantin)Miami-Herald-Bill would bring fairness to Haitian Immigrants (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: leonie hermantin <lhermantin@hotmail.com>

Posted on Tue, Nov. 04, 2003

Bill would bring fairness to Haitian immigrants

Assistant Secretary of State Roger Noriega's Oct. 29 letter, U.S. aid
focuses on needs of poorest Haitians, contains omissions. One is the
administration's effort to deprive Haitians of remittances they need to
survive, which will lead to illegal sea trips and diversion of Coast Guard
resources needed to fight terror.

On Oct. 2 Rep. Kendrick Meek, D-Miami, introduced the Haitian Refugee
Immigration Fairness Improvement Act to fix this problem caused by a flaw in
the Haitian Refugee Immigrant Fairness Act of 1998.

The 1998 act tried to remedy two decades of discrimination by permitting
Haitians documented before 1996 to get green cards, like Nicaraguans.
Excluded were bona fide refugees -- like a soldier who refused orders to
shoot unarmed demonstrators -- forced to flee by air with bad documents to
avoid repatriation into the hands of their persecutors.

Most of these 3,000 refugees came here between 1987 and 1994. They own
houses and businesses here, and their U.S.-born children are our
communities' future. Deporting these parents instantly dries up $200 a month
on average in remittances that each sends to relatives in Haiti. If each
refugee supports five relatives -- a reasonable estimate -- that's 15,000
Haitians deprived of support. Thousands of them may flee, requiring the
diversion of Coast Guard, Border Patrol and other resources.

Meek's bill, and hopefully a companion piece in the Senate, are designed to
prevent this impending tragedy.

STEVEN FORESTER, Senior policy advocate, Haitian Women of Miami, Miami

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