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An opportunity for U.S. to finally do right by Haitian refugees

The United States is the world's leader in protecting refugees, yet there is one group of refugees that we treat differently from any other -- Haitians. U.S. policy toward them is distinctly unfair and discriminatory. For years, the U.S. government has feared an influx of Haitians to our shores and has gone to great lengths to ensure that very few of them reach our country.

The Haitian elections scheduled for Feb. 7 likely will further destabilize the country and result in increased violence and persecution and more refugees fleeing toward the United States.

The U.S. could ease some of this suffering by reversing its policy toward Haitians, giving them a fair chance to reach our shores and voice their asylum claims, and treating them the same as other refugee groups when they arrive.

Conditions in Haiti are worse than they've been in many years, and there is little hope for improvement. Lawlessness, extreme violence, persecution and other human rights abuses are the norm. The State Department has said that "there are no safe areas in Haiti." The head of U.N. peacekeeping operations, Jean-Marie Guehenno, said in June that conditions in parts of Haiti were worse than in the Darfur region of Sudan. Haiti remains the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere.

Despite the relentless suffering and persecution, the U.S. Coast Guard routinely intercepts rickety Haitian boats on the high seas and in U.S. territorial waters. For several reasons, the occupants are often returned to Haiti with little or no screening of their asylum claims. Other asylum seekers may have more immediate access to immigration officials.

For those who gain access to the U.S. system, claims are usually fast-tracked in asylum adjudication hearings as brief as 30 minutes, often without legal representation. Further, based on a 2003 ruling by Attorney General John Ashcroft, all Haitians, including children, are detained indefinitely without a chance of parole -- the only refugee group to be singled out in such a way. Those few Haitians fortunate enough to be granted refugee status are most often resettled to third countries and not permitted to stay in the United States.

As Haiti's political crisis was unfolding in February 2004 -- culminating in President Jean-Bertrand Aristide's leaving Haiti -- and violence was abounding, the United States reacted by sending a naval blockade to the Caribbean nation that turned back fleeing boats. On Feb. 25, 2004, days before Mr. Aristide left, President Bush said that the United States "will turn back any refugee that attempts to reach our shore" from Haiti.

But blockades and discriminatory deterrents targeted at Haitians do not deter desperate Haitians from trying to reach our shores. In November, the bodies of three Haitian women washed ashore on Pompano Beach, Fla.

There is much more that the United States can do.

First, we need to ensure that Haitians are given a fair chance to voice their asylum claims. Those interdicted on the high seas should be taken to a temporary transit center, housed in appropriate conditions and provided full refugee screening by trained officials.

The administration must begin working with other countries in the Caribbean to establish temporary havens so that no one is returned to a life-threatening environment. Simultaneously, permanent resettlement options should be made available for the few refugees with no hope for return. Special steps should also be taken to ensure the safety of those at particular risk, including children and women.

Haitians in the United States should be granted temporary protected status (TPS), which would allow them to stay temporarily until the violence has abated and Haiti is somewhat stable. TPS has been granted to nationals from Bosnia-Herzegovina, Burundi and El Salvador, among others. A bill has been introduced in Congress to grant TPS for Haitians, but it needs more support. In addition, the United States must temporarily halt the deportation of all Haitians until Haiti becomes safe again.

Clear and manageable opportunities for a country to protect the world's most vulnerable rarely present themselves, yet the Feb. 7 elections offer such an opportunity. This is our chance to uphold international law and to lead the world by our example of doing all we can to protect refugees.

As we fight wars to protect citizens in such distant lands as Iraq and Afghanistan, we cannot continue to push away those in need in our own backyard.

Megan McKenna and Joanne Kelsey are, respectively, senior coordinator and director at the Women's Commission for Refugee Women and Children.