A Different Face of the Immigration Debate

America's Voice Blog

Posted 03/31/09 at 04:03pm

Haitian Children This past weekend the Family Unity Tour arrived in Florida, shining light on the urgent need for immigration reform- especially for the Haitian community there.

In Homestead, FL, before a crowd of over about 500, Jocelyn shared her personal testimony about how ICE went after her family and deported her husband, leaving behind their two U.S. citizen children, Chandler and Jalyn. These are the adorable faces to your right.

Jocelyn's husband had previously filed for political asylum in 1992, married a U.S. citizen, and together they had two U.S. citizen children, Chandler and Jalyn. ICE deported Jocelyn's husband to a country where, according to the State Department, there are no "safe areas".

The New York Times describes why the Haitian community is in desperate need of reform to our immigration laws:

Haiti was already an island of unimaginable suffering, a country ravaged by war and roving gangs where four out of five residents lived in extreme poverty. Then, in less than a month last year, four vicious storms lashed it, killing up to 800 people, leaving as many as 1 million homeless and inflicting at least $1 billion in damage -- 15 percent of the country's gross domestic product.

The State Department cautions visitors that there are no "safe areas" in Haiti, and that "kidnapping, death threats, murders, drug-related shootouts, armed robberies, break-ins and carjackings are common."

Yet, it is U.S. policy to deport the estimated 30,000 Haitians in this country back to this hotbed of violence and squalor. The United States grants temporary protected status (TPS) to immigrants from countries with extreme economic or political conditions; Haitian immigrants more than qualify.

Along with reforming the immigration laws of this country, perhaps it would be wise to also restructure ICE's priorities when it comes to going after the most vulnerable of our communities.

As for Jocelyn, everyday she hopes that her husband comes back home safely, and that her children Chandler and Jalyn won't grow up without a father.

We hope so, too.

By Maria Ponce
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I assume you mean the Washington Post, not the New York Times, in the quote above. Otherwise, very good post.

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The United States grants temporary protected status (TPS) to immigrants from countries with extreme economic or political conditions; Haitian immigrants more than qualify. - hmmm

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