Mr. Chairman. ladies and gentlemen of the House. we all share the concern about the people in Haiti and elsewhere in the world to have freedom and to exercise a free economic system. There are unquestionably Haitians who meet the statutory definition of a refugee. and no one is suggesting those people ought to be returned to Haiti. However. there are many. many Haitians who are being picked up at sea who are leaving simply for economic reasons. They have. the vast majority of them. the intent to come here for economic reasons. The fact of the matter is the evidence is fairly clear for anyone who wants to look at the reality of the situation. They are not political refugees but economic refugees. The Haitians have the ability to go over an open border with the Dominican Republic. and if they so desired and were so worried about political persecutions. they could go there. One hundred Haitians went to Venezuela feeling that might be a bypass into the United States.
Keywords matched
refugee refugees