19329: (Hermantin)Miami-Herald-Florida members call for suspension of deportations (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: leonie hermantin <lhermantin@hotmail.com>

Posted on Fri, Feb. 27, 2004


U.S. CONGRESS


Florida members call for suspension of deportations

A growing chorus of South Florida officials and activists is seeking to stop
the deportation of Haitians during the current crisis.

BY FRANK DAVIES

fdavies@herald.com


WASHINGTON - Haitians in South Florida are still being deported to their
chaotic homeland, and that practice should stop during the current crisis, a
bipartisan group of Florida House members said Thursday.

Seven South Florida members are urging Homeland Security officials to grant
Haitians in the United States ''temporary protected status'' so they are not
deported while violence continues in Haiti.

One Miami Democrat, Rep. Kendrick Meek, appealed directly to President Bush
on Wednesday at the White House. Bush said he would consider the request,
Meek said.

Three Republicans from Miami -- Lincoln and Mario Díaz-Balart and Ileana
Ros-Lehtinen -- wrote Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge that the
''dangerous situation'' in Haiti justified stopping deportations.

''There is no other community in the United States that is more impacted by
the Haitian crisis than the community we represent,'' they wrote. 'This is a
perfect example why Congress included `TPS' in the Immigration Act.''

Three Democrats -- Alcee Hastings, Peter Deutsch and Robert Wexler -- said
at a press conference they would push for a TPS resolution in Congress but
urged Homeland Security to act quickly.

''This is absolutely critical, because people sent back could die,''
Hastings said. ``Right now the government is asking Americans, including
Haitian Americans, to leave Haiti.''

Homeland Security did not respond to several phone calls about the request
or recent deportations, though Deutsch said his staff learned that at least
one Haitian was deported as recently as Wednesday.

In Little Haiti on Thursday, a group of Haitian-American leaders and
activists added their voices to the request for temporary protected status.

''Right now, it won't cost us anything to hold them,'' said state Rep.
Philip Brutus, D-North Miami. ``It's the only moral thing to do.''

Deutsch said the status had been granted to nationals of El Salvador,
Nicaragua, Sudan, Burundi and other countries wracked by strife.

''The secretary has the discretion -- I'd say the obligation -- to do
this,'' Deutsch said.

Herald staff writer Elaine de Valle contributed to this report from Miami.

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