Speech #960183934

Mr. Speaker. the Congressional Black Caucus recognizes that the plight of Haitian refugees has indeed reached a critical stage. As chairperson of the Congressional Black Caucus Task Force on Haitian Refugees. I along with my four colleagues have been working toward obtaining political asylum for 8.000 to 10.000 Haitians who are seeking political asylum in the United States. Hundreds of our Haitian brothers and sisters have fled a repressive society only to encounter a sense of injustice and a double standard under the administration of law in the United States. The discriminatory processing of asylum applications by Haitian nationals has resulted in the denial of minimum due process protections. INS officials have consistently violated the due process rights of these people as well as the requirements of applicable U.S. regulations and statutes and the United Nations Protocol relating to the status of refugees. For example. last year. asylum interviews and deportation hearings involving Haitian refugees were conducted at a rate as high as 150 per day while the normal rate of hearings is only 10 per day. Consequently. many attorneys were not able to even attend proceedings involving their Haitian clients. This mass scheduling of hearings for Haitian nationals denied their attorneys any reasonable opportunity to document and prepare the asylum applications. Despite the discriminatory fashion in which information was gathered in these proceedings. INS used this information in evidentiary hearings. which also have been mass scheduled. The result of these hearings determines whether a person will receive refugee status. that is. political asylum. Clearly the use of "tainted" information in these asylum proceedings is a violation of American legal principles. The continuation of practices which violate the due process rights of Haitian nationals is merely an attempt to get rid of the Haitian problem as soon as possible. This action is clearly evidenced by INS attempt to have overturned on an expedited basis a court order barring deportation until a lawsuit on behalf of the Haitians is resolved. This lawsuit. brought by the National Council of Churches against the Department of Justice. challenges the mistreatment of Haitian refugees as violations of minimum due process protections and the U.N. protocol. The National Council of Churches has also filed a complaint with the Organization of American States charging the United States with human rights violations in their treatment of Haitian refugees. I ask that a copy of their complaint be inserted in the RECORD. Two other practices against Haitians seeking political asylum are of special concern to the task force. We are appalled by the policy of "voluntary return" which has resulted In over 600 Haitians being involuntarily returned to Haiti without being accorded even a minimal opportunity to assert their claim for political asylum. Recent evidence shows that these returnees have been singled out for imprisonment. and in some cases. execution in Fort Dimenche upon their return to Haiti. Also. the denial of work permits has caused extreme human hardship and suffering. In fact. Dade County officials testified on December 4 before Attorney General Civiletti that the major health problem in the Haitian refugee community in Florida is starvation. Ineligible for Federal assistance. many Haitian refugees have been forced to seek locally provided social services. which has imposed a severe fiscal burden on Dade County in the Miami. Fla.. area. One of the major obstacles in gaining political asylum for these people is the belief by many people in this administration that Haitians are "economic refugees and not "political" refugees. Let me say that the caucus sees these people as political refugees entitled to the same protections as refugees from other areas in the world. Further. the recent events in Haiti indicate that political repression is a fact of life for every Haitian. A new press law. which prohibits any criticism of the President. his family. foreign governments which are doing business in Haiti or the popular culture of Haiti. has been condemned by the InterAmerican Press Association.