Haiti

FLIMEN is saddened by the earthquake disaster in Haiti as are all Americans.  The relief efforts by Americans are indeed heroic, compassionate and necessary.

This message provides a few statements on Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and a DHS press release which are followed by a thoughtful blog by Roy Beck of NumbersUSA.com that can be summarized with:

"The whole world is committed at this moment to assisting the 8 million Haitians who are in their home country.  The Haitians are suffering from a momentous tragedy. Since there is no indication that the vast majority of them will be accepted for resettlement in other countries, it only makes sense to put all resources into rebuilding their own country for their habitation, rather than allowing a small fraction to move to the U.S. and further exacerbate the unemployment and economic distress of our own most vulnerable Americans.

We must watch very carefully to make sure that the humanitarian efforts for the Haitians are the most effective for the largest number, rather than helping a few move to the U.S. and enticing far more to risk their lives to get the same treatment."


Temporary Protected Status (TPS):

The Obama Administration on January 15, 2010 granted TPS to illegal alien Haitians NOW IN THE US.  TPS is not legally a permanent AMNESTY.  Granting of TPS means illegal alien Haitians are legal for 18 months at which time they will be subject to deportation.  The Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) in an article below, argues that TPS is effectively AMNESTY because they don't go home due to poor enforcement but it is not legally a permanent AMNESTY (waiving of the subject to deportation penalty).

This Haitian TPS issue is not a new issue but is one that has been lingering for years as open border advocates have for years advocated TPS for Haitians.  The Obama Administration had not previously granted TPS to Haitians despite calls to do so.  Deportations of illegal alien Haitians were in progress, albeit at a very low rate. 

See the following links for positions on TPS for Haitians:

Center for Immigration Studies:  'Temporary' Status for Haitians

FAIR:  FAIR Urges Termination of TPS for Other Nations to Accommodate Influx of Haitians

FAIR:  Homeland Security Grants Haitians Temporary Protected Status
 

Overall, the problem with TPS is the same as with our other immigration laws in that the law is not enforced.  Very few who receive Temporary Protected Status ever leave or are deported once there are here.   Although legally not AMNESTY, TPS is in effect AMNESTY.

For further TPS information see: 

NumbersUSA Denounces TPS Extension As Proof Bush Can't Be Trusted On Immigration
http://www.numbersusa.com/content/resources/pressreleases/numbersusa-denounces-tps-extension-proof.html

Here to Stay There's Nothing as Permanent as a Temporary Refugee
http://www.cis.org/TemporaryRefugees-PolicyImplications

Amnesty Without Congress
http://www.cis.org/TPSforall

 

DHS Press Release:

As described in the following Fox News article, a DHS press release stated that Haitians not now in the US seeking to enter the USA would be repatriated. 

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,583156,00.html:

The estimate of 1-2 illegal alien Haitians who are a subset of the 10-20 million illegal aliens residing in the US underscores non-enforcement of immigration laws.

Other relevant links provide hints of future plans:

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/broward/fl-haiti-florida-schools-20100115,0,3883983.story?page=2

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/southflorida/story/1428355.html?asset_id=Catholic%20Charities:%20Pedro%20Pan-type%20operation%20for%20Haitian%20children%20possible&asset_type=html_module (Expired link)

http://www.wsbtv.com/news/22244984/detail.html:

"The plan would bring around 45,000 refugees through Jacksonville to be divided and distributed to Florida urban areas, including Tampa, Miami and Orlando. At this point, it is not clear yet what other Florida cities might host earthquake victims. The only certainty is that it will likely happen quickly and require a team effort."


NumbersUSA Blog by Roy Beck:

http://www.numbersusa.com/content/nusablog/beckr/january-18-2010/dhs-making-plans-entice-haitians-risk-illegal-boat-effort-us.html:

DHS Making Plans to Entice Haitians to Risk Illegal Boat Effort Into U.S.?

By Roy Beck, Monday, January 18, 2010, 3:33 PM EST

We are getting conflicting stories out of the Department of Homeland Security that it may be preparing to entice hundreds of thousands of Haitians to try to illegally enter the U.S. and then grant them some kind of legal status and work permits. Here is what we are hearing . . .

A source from within DHS is hearing of an effort to gather all French and Creole speakers in DHS to move to our Gitmo base in Cuba.  This is where Haitian boat people trying to illegally enter the U.S. would be taken after being intercepted on the seas.  At Gitmo, according to this DHS source, the boat people would be processed and then allowed to enter the U.S. for some undetermined amount of time with work permits.

Another source says DHS Chief Janet Napolitano was asked about this plan by a journalist and has denied it.

At this point, I am not weighing in on the credibility of the information.

But I do want to point out that it would be incredibly cruel to the Haitian people for the Obama Administration to provide any sign whatsoever that Haitians who try to enter the U.S. illegally would be allowed to stay and work.

Even without a devastating earthquake, Haitians for decades have shown a willingness to drop everything and risk their lives on leaky boats to try to get to the U.S. when they thought they might have a chance to settle illegally. 

Many of you may remember that thousands of Haitians took to the seas just before Pres. Clinton was first inaugurated because they thought from some of his campaign comments that he would allow them to sneak into the country. Many Haitians drowned in the process.  The first act of the Clinton Administration was to intercept the Haitian boats and make it clear that taking to sea was fruitless because the boats would not be allowed to land in Florida and illegal aliens who evaded the Coast Guard would be sent back to Haiti when caught on land.

In short, the first time that Haitians try to illegally enter the U.S. and are allowed to stay legally, we can expect to see a massive flotilla of rickety boats heading here from Haiti, and hundreds or thousands of Haitians will die in the process.

For now, we can hope that if DHS is setting up a processing center at Gitmo, it will be for the purpose of moving Haitians rescued from their boats back to Haiti.

The whole world is committed at this moment to assisting the 8 million Haitians who are in their home country.  The Haitians are suffering from a momentous tragedy. Since there is no indication that the vast majority of them will be accepted for resettlement in other countries, it only makes sense to put all resources into rebuilding their own country for their habitation, rather than allowing a small fraction to move to the U.S. and further exacerbate the unemployment and economic distress of our own most vulnerable Americans. 

We must watch very carefully to make sure that the humanitarian efforts for the Haitians are the most effective for the largest number, rather than helping a few move to the U.S. and enticing far more to risk their lives to get the same treatment.

ROY BECK is Founder & CEO of NumbersUSA

January 18, 2010