30324: Hermantin(News)Haitian refugees have secured victories (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: leonie hermantin <lhermantin@hotmail.com>

Posted on Wed, Apr. 04, 2007

Haitian refugees have secured victories

The April 2 story Haitians have high profile, low clout, says that the 
''Haitian-American community has failed to come together to lobby for 
immigration reform.'' That is not accurate.

Last April, 5,000 Haitians demonstrated for Temporary Protected Status (TPS). 
In March I was part of a delegation that met with Haiti's prime minister to 
seek his government's assistance in securing TPS. In 1998 we secured the 
Haitian Refugee Immigration Fairness Act (HRIFA), under which 17,000 people 
became legal permanent residents of the United States. And last May, we secured 
HRIFA-improvement amendments in comprehensive immigration reform enacted by the 
U.S. Senate.

These were hard-won victories; we're fighting now to ensure any congressional 
bills this year include such provisions and are also pushing Rep. Alcee 
Hastings' Haitian Protection Act, HR 522, which would grant Haitians TPS.

The Cuban-American community has the 1966 Cuban Adjustment Act, which predates 
Haitian emigration; Cubans fled Communism and arrived earlier, wealthier and 
much better connected than Haitians. No other immigrant community has such 
advantages. To blame the Haitian community, which is more recent, poorer and 
less well-connected, while ignoring amazing achievements such as those 
mentioned is a one-sided presentation. It ignores the important editorial and 
public support we've secured by bringing injustices to the attention of the 
American people.

STEVEN DAVID FORESTER, senior policy advocate, Haitian Women of Miami Inc., 
Miami Beach

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