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The State Department deems Haitian migrants to be a threat to the national security

Dear Secretary Powell:

On behalf of the Women's Commission for Refugee Women and Children and the Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center, we write to express our strong concern about a fact sheet released by the State Department on December 29, 2003 that deems Haitian migrants to be a threat to the national security of the United States. The statement noticeably ignores the deteriorating human rights situation in Haiti and the fact that a significant number of Haitians who flee their homeland, including women and children, are asylum seekers who have the right to seek protection in the United States.

In fact, in recent months the U.S. government itself has repeatedly expressed concerns about the escalating political violence in Haiti and the Aristide government's failure to protect its own citizens. While clearly it is in the foreign policy interests of the United States to restore stability to Haiti, it is equally clear that in the interim we have a legal and moral obligation to protect the rights and safety of refugees forced to flee such conditions.

Instead, the Administration has systematically implemented a series of measures designed to deter and prevent the arrival of Haitians on U.S. shores. Such measures include the interdiction of Haitian boats on the high seas and in the territorial waters of the United States with little to no screening of passengers' potential asylum claims; resettlement to third countries of those few Haitians provided screening and deemed refugees; prolonged and arbitrary detention of Haitians who are able to make it to the United States; criminal prosecution of some Haitians who use false documents to enter the United States, a punitive measure that disregards the reality that refugees often have to resort to the use of false documents to escape persecution; and fast-tracked asylum adjudications in hearings as short as 30 minutes, including time for translation. In effect, the United States has singled Haitians out for discriminatory treatment in violation of both its obligations under the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and U.S asylum law.

Moreover, it is perplexing that the State Department fact sheet cites national security as a justification for these actions. Communications from the Administration to support this assertion have either characterized the potential of a Haitian influx as a drain on military resources or indicated that nationals from countries in the Middle East will transit through Haiti to enter the United States. The diversion of military resources is already happening to support the interdiction program, a use of resources that is illegal and unnecessary unless it is to conduct rescue-at-sea operations to assist boats in trouble. Moreover, the notion that U.S. authorities will be unable to differentiate between arriving Haitians and nationals from the Middle East is indefensible.

Last year, the Women's Commission, in partnership with the Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center, conducted an assessment of the treatment of Haitian refugees in both the Dominican Republic and the United States. It found an almost complete absence of meaningful protection, demonstrated by the experiences of rejected asylum seekers who were returned to Haiti. Women whom we interviewed after their return from the United States back to Haiti reported harassment and beatings. Some had been forced to go into hiding and were planning to flee a second time. Since the time of that assessment, conditions in Haiti have only worsened, further jeopardizing the lives and safety of innocent Haitian civilians.

We urge you to reconsider this policy in its entirety. Just as U.S. citizens are concerned about their safety, so too are the Haitian people fearful about their country's future. As the world's leading defender of human rights, refugee rights, and democratic ideals, the United States cannot turn its back on a tiny neighbor. We must do everything we can to restore democracy to Haiti, and in the mean time, we must also offer refuge to its citizens when they turn to us for help.

Thank you for considering our views.

Sincerely,

Ellen Jorgensen
Acting Director
Women's Commission for Refugee Women and Children


Cheryl Little
Executive Director
Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center