12036: NCHR Press Release: Lawmakers Join Call for Reversal ofINS Pol icy (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Martine Caze <MCaze@nchr.org>

> FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
>
> 			Contact:  Dina Paul Parks
> 			     	     212-337-0005
>
> BIPARTISAN LAWMAKERS JOIN HAITIAN COALITION IN CALLING FOR REVERSAL OF INS
> DETENTION POLICY
>
> NEW YORK, MAY 15, 2002  -- A group of bipartisan lawmakers joined the
> National Coalition for Haitian Rights (NCHR) on Capitol Hill yesterday,
> May 14, to call on the Bush Administration to reverse its Haitian-only
> detention policy, currently responsible for the incarceration of
> approximately 250 asylum seekers languishing in South Florida jails simply
> for fleeing persecution.  Reps. John Conyers (D-MI), Ileana Ros-Lehtinen
> (R-FL), Carrie Meek (D-FL) and Lincoln Diaz-Balart (R-FL) sponsored a
> Press and Congressional Staff Briefing in the Rayburn House Office
> Building to educate their peers and the national press about this
> discriminatory policy and strategize about what could be done to reverse
> it.  NCHR Executive Director, Dina Paul Parks, was joined by Cheryl
> Little, Executive Director of the Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center
> (FIAC), and Frank Sharry, Executive Director of the National Immigration
> Forum, to discuss the specifics of the policy, the resulting lawsuit that
> has been filed by FIAC and other efforts underway to challenge this
> blatantly unjust policy which singles out and punishes Haitian asylum
> seekers solely because of their nationality.
>
> In December 2001, the INS abruptly reversed its policy of releasing
> Haitian asylum seekers into the community after they established a
> "credible fear of persecution" while they were pursuing their claims.
> Now, although asylum seekers from any other nation in the world continue
> to be released within days in Miami, virtually all asylum seekers arriving
> from Haiti by boat or plane are jailed and their cases are super
> fast-tracked, resulting in the denial of over 90% of their cases thus far.
>
>
> "We are grateful for the support of these Congressional representatives
> and for their willingness to bring this issue to the national stage,"
> stated Ms. Paul Parks.  "We are not asking for special treatment.  What we
> want is quite simple:  for Haitians to be treated as any other
> similarly-situated asylum seekers and to be accorded a fair day in court
> to make their case.  NCHR will continue its efforts to raise awareness of
> this issue and bring pressure to bear to compel the Bush Administration to
> do the right thing and release the Haitians. "
>
>
>
> ________________________________
>
> Dina Paul Parks
> Executive Director
> National Coalition for Haitian Rights
> 275 Seventh Avenue
> 17th Floor
> New York, NY 10001
> ph:  212-337-0005
> fx:  212-741-8749
> dpparks@nchr.org
> www.nchr.org
>