Speech #1020136810

I was disappointed and confused by the administrations proposals to weaken economic sanctions against the illegitimate government of Haiti. The administration. which has rightly spoken out so strongly against this government. seems by their actions to be legitimizing this government. First. by proposing the weakening of sanctions. in spite of the Organization of American States and second. by opposing this bill. the Haitian Refugee Protection Act. when political crimes have been cited by such groups as Amnesty International and American Watch. Over the last months we have watched the battle between the President and the courts over returning thousands of Haitian refugees who are fleeing the terror of a government that gains its legitimacy through brute force. Hundreds. perhaps thousands. have been killed and tortured because of their outspoken support of the democratically elected Adstide. Unfortunately. the Supreme Court of this land saw fit to overrule a lower court ruling. blockhig the administrations forced return of Haitian refugees until a Federal appeals court decides the pending legal question. In the meantime. we continue to return those fleeing from the terror to a brutal military regime providing them with names and addresses.-names and addresses which make political dissenters easier to locate and punish. There are stories of U.S. Coast Guard ships conducting the screening process on board their boats. sending Cuban refugees to Miami without question and sending the Haitian refugees back to PortauPrince. This is not what the United States of America has stood for over 200 years. nor should it be what we will stand for today. H.R. 3844 will temporarily halt the repatriation of Haitian refugees In United States custody since February 5. The bill requires the administration to report on the situation of those refugees returned to Haiti within 6 months of the enactment of the legislation. which is the length of the temporary halt on repatriations. In short. this bill will reestablish our Nations decency in accepting political refugees fleeing for their lives. This bill is right. it is humane. and it Is urgently needed. We have spoken out against nations throughout the world for their failure to accept political refugees and yet. today. in our own backyard. we fail to practice our own high standards. Let us begin to live up to the high ideals we have lived up to for over 200 years by passing this legislation and sending a message to the illegitimate government of Haiti and to the world.