21875: (Hermantin)Sun-Sentinel-S. Florida Haitian advocates urge refugee reform (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: leonie hermantin <lhermantin@hotmail.com>

S. Florida Haitian advocates urge refugee reform



By Alva James-Johnson
Staff Writer

May 14, 2004

A delegation of South Florida immigrant advocates spent the past two days in
Washington, D.C., trying to drum up congressional and presidential support
for measures that would benefit Haitian refugees.

Ten local politicians, Haitian community leaders and immigration experts
called for passage of a bill to allow thousands of Haitian immigrants to
become permanent residents and for executive orders that would provide
refugees with due process when intercepted at sea and temporary protective
status on shore.

Under U.S. policy, Haitians who arrive by sea are detained while they pursue
political asylum through the courts. But Cuban refugees who make it to shore
are generally released and can become eligible for permanent residency one
year later.

Immigrant advocates said that 1,400 Haitians have attempted to enter the
United States since the recent political crisis and that most were
repatriated without due process.

Miami-Dade County Commissioner Sally Heyman, one of the delegates who met
with congressional leaders Wednesday, said the U.S. policy is unfair.

"We're a nation of immigrants, and this is unacceptable," said the
commissioner, who represents a district made up mostly of white and Jewish
residents. "You don't have to be a Haitian, or just representing Haitians,
to know something needs to be done."

The organizations represented included the Haitian American Grassroots
Coalition, Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center, Haitian Lawyers Association
and the offices of some Miami-Dade elected officials.

The group met with members of Congress on Wednesday, and some remained
Thursday for a meeting with Homeland Security and State Department
officials.

Marlene Bastien, executive director of Haitian Women of Miami, said the
group asked both Democrats and Republicans in Congress to support a bill
that would allow Haitians living in the United States since Dec. 31, 1995,
to become legal permanent residents.

Introduced by Rep. Kendrick Meek, D-Miami, the bill is an expansion of the
1998 Haitian Refugee Immigration Fairness Act. The original bill excludes
from eligibility to apply for permanent residency those people who arrive by
aircraft, advocates said, and doesn't make provisions for children who
become adults while their parents' cases are pending. Meek's bill attempts
to address those issues.

Some opposed to the bill argue it will encourage illegal immigration.

Bastien said the bill could move forward only with help from Republicans in
Congress. She said the group received a favorable response from some
Republicans, such as Sen. Mike DeWine, R-Ohio, and U.S. Reps. Mario Diaz
Balart, Lincoln Diaz Balart and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, who represent Miami.

"Only Republicans can get it moved," Bastien said.

Alva James-Johnson can be reached at ajjohnson@sun-sentinel.com or
954-356-4523.


Copyright © 2004, South Florida Sun-Sentinel

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