Speech #960272526

I would like this opportunity to acknowledge and openly thank my friend and colleague. Hon. BILL LEHMAN of Florida. for his countless efforts in helping to address the urgent issue regarding the plight of the Haitian refugees. .Congressman LEHMAN first indicated his compassion for the plight of Haitian refugees in 1975. Although the number of Haitians at that time was relatively few/ the injustice of their treatment by the Immigration and Naturalization Service was readily apparent. Haitians seeking political asylum in the United States did not receive due process as the INS persisted in treating them differently from other asylum applicants. He urged the Subcommittee on Immigration. Citizenship. and International Law to look into this matter. In February 1976. the subcommittee staff went to Miami and to Haiti. It subsequently issued a report which made specific recommendations for changes in INS procedures. One suggestion was that aliens seeking asylum should be advised of their right to counsel. The Congressman continued to be supportive of efforts to obtain justice for the Haitians. In 1977. he sponsored a briefing for members and staff on the nature of the Haitian refugee problem. During that year. the number of Haitians arriving in the United States began to grow. The fiscal impact of the refugees on Dade County began to grow also because of the lack of legal status given to the Haitians. In April 1979. the Congressman went to Haiti in order to gain a better understanding of why so many people were fleeing their homes. The poverty of Haiti Is obvious. but he also found that the climate of repression continued in the present regime.