24217: Hermantin (News) Haitians stage rally against deportations (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: leonie hermantin <lhermantin@hotmail.com>

Sun-Sentinel

Haitians stage rally against deportations
Miami protesters also sound off on alleged profiling by authorities.



By Ruth Morris
Staff Writer

January 29, 2005

Wearing soccer jerseys and draped in satin flags, hundreds of Haitians
chanted and sang protest songs in front of Miami's principal immigration
building Friday, calling for a moratorium on deportations back to their
troubled homeland and railing against "harassment" by immigration agents.

The rally was the largest and loudest by area Haitians in a month-old
campaign to stop what they insist is a focused effort by immigration
agencies to arrest and deport more Haitians, despite ongoing strife and
political unrest back home. Immigration authorities have steadfastly denied
allegations of profiling or targeting any particular group.

"We enforce the immigration and customs laws of this country evenly, across
the board, irrespective of a person's race, ethnicity or language," said
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokeswoman Barbara González.

Stories of predawn arrests and random ID checks have flooded the Haitian
community, transmitted across the airwaves of Creole radio stations and in
public service announcements.

"I guess we're easy to be spotted, because we're black. They take them and
send them back to Haiti," said Fresnel Laurent, 65.

ICE denied a recent request for data on the number of Haitians deported
monthly, but Jean-Robert Lafortune, president of the Haitian-American
Grassroots Coalition, said 28 undocumented Haitians were being held at Krome
detention center, and faced deportation, after being rounded up at bus stops
and grocery stores in recent weeks.

Protesters also sounded a longstanding appeal for Temporary Protected Status
for Haitians, which would mean work permits and a shield from removal for
Haitians already in the United States, but illegally. The status is awarded
to countries struggling with natural disasters and political violence. Many
protesters insisted Friday Haiti's bloody revolt and catastrophic storm
damage fit the bill on both counts.

Ruth Morris can be reached at rmorris@sun-sentinel.com or 954-356-4691.


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