Speech #980219407

JR.. the chairman of the Committee on the Judiciary. This amendment incorporates H.R. 4853. the Rodino CubanHaitian Adjustment Act. I want to express my appreciation to Chairman RODINO for offering this amendment to H.R. 1510. which would provide for the adjustment to status of Cuban and Haitian refugees. The offering of this amendment is testimony not only to the expertise of Chairman RODINO in the area of immigration and refugee policy. but is reflective of the fairness and compassion with which he has approached the difficult issues that abound in immigration and refugee matters. The treatment and absence of legal status of the Haitian refugees has long been a concern of the Congressional Black Caucus generally. and our task force on Haitian refugees in particular. This is evidenced in the support of this legislation by the Congressional Black Caucus. Former Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm of New York and I have been concerned about the lack of due process and equal protection under the law for Haitian refugees for many years. This concern ultimately resulted in the formation of the Congressional Black Caucus task force on Haitian refugees. We have been alarmed and appalled by the inhumane treatment and detention of this class of refugees. While I do not wish to judge the intent of the Immigration and Naturalization Service and the Department of State in their treatment of the Haitian refugees. the result has been a determined effort to exclude the first significant class of black refugees to come to our shores. The result has been racist in effect. regardless of intent. This amendment seeks a constructive solution to a harmful and disturbing episode in the history of immigration to the United States. It would also and most importantly provide relief to a limited class of Haitian refugees who have developed equity in our country and have proved themselves to the communities in which they reside. to be hard working and law abiding. The purpose and substance of the amendment offered by Chairman RODINO are not unique in our Nations history. We have in the past compassionately and wisely responded to Hungarian refugees. other Eastern European refugees. the initial wave of Cuban refugees. and to Indochinese refugees through special legislation. There is a clear humanitarian need for this amendment as well as a compelling national interest in the passage of this legislation. Let us correct the record and put our Nation squarely in support of the principles of equal justice as reflected in the passage of the Refugee Act of 1980. Again. I congratulate Chairman RODINo and all of my colleagues who are supporting this amendment. Mr. Chairman. I would like to submit for the record material on conditions in Haiti which have caused the Haitian refugees to seek freedom on our shores. I urge my colleagues to support the Rodino amendment. As the Chairman knows. for the past 2 years I have been seeking a relationship with people at all levels of Haitian society to see if there is some way that we can improve the human rights situation and the political economy of Haiti so that refugees would no longer feel impelled to risk their lives on the high seas to escape to our shores. This discussion has involved the Haitian Government. private voluntary organizations working for development in Haiti. the business sector. the Haitian League for Human Rights. our Embassy. and many others. The road has been rocky and often characterized by one or two steps forward and one. two. or three steps backward. Most recently. the Committee on Foreign Affairs in section 803 of the International Security and Development Act of 1984 addressed the human rights situation in Haiti which should be considered in evaluating the need for H.R. 4853. I quote now from section 803: While the Committee is encouraged by the Haitian Governments cooperation in curbing illegal emigration and in implementing fiscal reforms and U.S. development assistance programs. the human rights situation in Haiti. which had shown potential for improvement. has in fact deteriorated. As the Department of States most recent annual human rights report to the Congress states. "Haitis political history has been one of authoritarian rule characterized by periods of political instability and human rights abuses . . . Freedom of speech. press. and association is restricted by the Government. and due process guarantees relating to judicial procedure are frequently disregarded." For example. in May 1983. the Government arrested without charge. several political opponents during the municipal elections process and held them in jail until the elections were over.