29814: Hermantin(News)At service, Haitians pray for immigration reform (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: leonie hermantin <lhermantin@hotmail.com>

Posted on Fri, Jan. 05, 2007



At service, Haitians pray for immigration reform

BY TANIA VALDEMORO
tvaldemoro@MiamiHerald.com

Haitians gathered Friday at Notre Dame d'Haiti Catholic Church to pray for a 
change in federal immigration policies after new political leaders -- 
Republican Gov. Charlie Crist and a Democratically controlled Congress -- 
assumed power.

''People in my church are being deported and leaving families behind. Those 
without legal status cannot work or provide for their family, and they can't 
send their children to school. We need justice,'' said the Rev. Reginald 
Jean-Mary, Notre Dame's administrator.

The morning prayer service attracted at least 800 people, some of whom held 
copies of deportation orders.

Sponsored by Haitian Women of Miami, the Florida Immigrant Coalition and the 
Haitian American Grassroots Coalition, it was the first in a series of events 
this weekend as the Archdiocese of Miami celebrates National Migration Week and 
Roman Catholics mark the feast of the Epiphany, when, according to the Bible, 
the three wise men traveled from the East to pay homage to the infant Jesus.

On Sunday, Miami Archbishop John Clement Favalora will say a Mass at St. Mary's 
Cathedral to celebrate diversity among Catholics. It will start at 10 a.m. at 
St. Mary's Cathedral, 7525 NW 2nd Ave. in Miami.

Immigration advocates say they sense that recent political change may help push 
through temporary protected status for Haitians. If the federal designation 
were granted, Haitians, whose homeland has been roiled by political upheaval 
and natural disasters like Hurricane Jeanne, could live and work in the United 
States for a temporary period.

''Crist can make an immense difference. We want him to tell President Bush to 
grant Haitians temporary protected status as a way of protecting Florida's 
borders and its children,'' said Steven Forester, senior policy advocate of 
Haitian Women of Miami.

Crist's spokeswoman, Erin Isaac, did not return calls for comment.

In 2004, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Committee on 
Migration decided to make comprehensive immigration reform a priority. The 
Catholic Campaign for Immigration Reform backs permanent residency for the 
undocumented, stronger family reunification policies and legal paths allowing 
migrants to come and work, among other changes.

But the comprehensive immigration reform favored by Catholic church leaders and 
others faces tough hurdles. The issue stalled last year when the U.S. Senate 
and House could not agree on what to do about the nation's 12 million 
undocumented immigrants.

The Senate-approved bill would have given millions of undocumented immigrants 
legal status and created a guest-worker program. The House-passed bill 
supported building a fence along the U.S.-Mexican border and focused on 
enforcement.

Complicating the political equation this year: Some newly elected House 
Democrats campaigned against legalizing undocumented immigrants. House Speaker 
Nancy Pelosi of California did not include immigration reform on her priority 
list for her first 100 hours as leader, although her counterpart, Senate 
Majority Leader Henry Reid of Nevada, said Thursday it would be among Senate 
Democrats' top 10 bills this year.

For Haitians, immigration reform is not only a wise domestic policy but a smart 
U.S. investment in stability for Haiti. With each person deported, Forester 
said, several family members and friends in Haiti lose financial help. Haitian 
economist Pierre-Marie Boisson told The Miami Herald last year that the 
country's economic growth is not being generated by private investments but 
mainly by the $1 billion in remittances Haitians living abroad sent back last 
year to relatives.

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