Speech #960328245

Mr. Speaker. tens of thousands of refugees from Haiti have sought asylum in the United States over the past few years. The socalled black boat people. these refugees from the dictatorial government of Presidentforlife Jean Claude Duvalier. arrive daily on the Florida shores. Unlike other refugees who have been welcomed with open arms. most of the Haitians. who were fortunate enough to survive their dangerous journey. have encountered harassment and threats of deportation by Immigration and Naturalization Service agents. The double standard of refugee treatmentfor example. the relative ease of emigration from Cuba versus the roadblocks against the Haitians. the favorable treatment. historically. toward refugees from Communist countries versus the restrictive treatment against refugees from rightwing governments allied to our ownis the subject of a brilliant article by Peter A. Schey. a leading civil rights attorney in Los Angeles. Schey uncovers the reasons behind the harassment of the Haitiansamong them. the State Departments concern not to disturb its friendly relations with the Duvalier regime. the enormous investments in Haiti by American corporations and the loss of cheap labor that the refugees represent. Presently. about 600 refugees are being processed out of camps in Florida. Thousands of others are in the United States. without official status. and are subject to deportation. Two key organizations in Detroit that are assisting Haitian refugees are: Haitian Refugee Center of Detroit. P.O. Box 32059.