Speech #960175487

Italy. or Lebanon. It is particularly striking that nowhere in the Caribbean. Latin America. or Africa can applications for conditional refugee status be accommodated. Unfortunately. such channeling operates to discriminate against refugees from the Caribbean. Latin America. and Africa. most of whom. would be people of color. Although there seems to be a great deal of support for the general thrust of this legislation. many questions have been raised about the increased number of refugees that could be admitted annually under this bill. The report language on H.R. 2186 represents the best rationale for the ceiling of 50.000 annual refugee admissions. As the Committee on the Judiciary report indicates: The 50.000 normal flow figure was selected based on past experience with refugee outflows.... It further states: Although the 50.000 figure represents an increase over the 17.400 admissions allowed under the present 203(a) (7) conditional entry provision. the number does not actually increase overall annual refugee admissions to the United States. since the Attorney Generals parole authority has consistently been used to exceed substantially the conditional entry ceiling. While it is true that the President can increase the number of refugee admissions beyond the 50.000 ceiling. this action can only be taken "after consultation with the Committees on the Judiciary." and after a determination has been made "that there is a foreseeable need to admit a greater number and it is justified by humanitarian concerns." Refugees fleeing persecution regardless of the country they come from. on humanitarian considerations alone. should be equal in standing for entry into the United States. Obviously. the United States cannot and should not accept all the worlds refugees. But the United States should do its share toward alleviating the worldwide refugee program. Considering the millions of refugees in the world. 50.000 annually is a comparatively small number. It should also be remembered that this ceiling does not mean that 50.000 refugees will in fact be admitted to the United States. the actual numbers may be much less than 50.OOQ. Therefore. I would hope that you would resist any attempts to reduce the number of annual refugee admissions below the current ceiling of 50.000 as presented in H.R. 2816. While supporting H.R. 2816. I also wish to briefly address the tragic plight of Haitian refugees. Since 1972. 8.000 to 10.000 black men. women. and children have fled the oppressive Duvalier regime and sought political asylum in the United States. Thousands have languished in South Florida for 5. 6. and up to 7 years. uncertain of their fate. and in desperate fear of forced return to Haiti. I would like to submit for the record a recent Amnesty International report and articles from the Miami Herald. New York Times. the Philadelphia Inquirer and Latin American Political Reports which describe the reality of political repression in Haiti and the arrest and indeed execution of Haitians deported by the Immigration and Naturalization Service. The Haitian Government. the State Department. and INS would have us believe. these boat people are not political refugees. but rather flee to the United States for economic reasons. The Congressional Black Caucus has studied this question carefully and has concluded that there can be no doubt that Haitians are in fact political refugees. Yet. upon arrival in the United States. Haitians. unlike any other group of political refugees. are imprisoned. maltreated. and denied any semblance of due process. The National Council of Churches accused the United States of human rights violations in its treatment of these refugees in a complaint filed with the Organization of American States. I would also like to submit the complaint for the RECORD together with an article from the October 1979 issue of the Saturday Review. Further. Dade County officials have testified that the primary health problem facing these people in the United States is starvation. I am overwhelmed -and ashamed that these refugees have been forced into starvation in America. The Archbishop of Miami has described the U.S. treatment of Haitian refugees as discriminatory and racist. He. and many others. including the CBC task force on Haitian refugees. have called upon the administration to grant refugee statuspolitical asylumto the small number of 8.000 to 10.000 Haitians who have sought refuge in the United States. Black Americans throughout the country have joined this appeal. I submit for the RECORD two letters to President Carter. from the CBC and approximately 125 black leaders in Florida. calling for equal treatment for these black boat people. We shall no longer tolerate the suffering of these refugees. I include the following material: [From the Saturday Review. October 19791