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."