Religious Leaders Support Temporary Protected Status for Haitians in U.S.
Episcopal News Service. October 28, 2004 [102804-2-A]
Bishops Leo Frade and James Ottley have joined other religious leaders in south Florida to request that President Bush grant temporary protected status (TPS) to Haitians residing in the U.S. A similar request was also sent to Democratic presidential contender Senator John Kerry.
Faith-based refugee and immigration organizations such as Episcopal Migration Ministries (EMM) have been advocating for months to have the U.S. Government permit Haitians residing in the U.S. without legal status to remain here until the current crisis in Haiti subsides. As recently as last week, Haitians were being deported, despite the violence and upheaval in their country.
TPS is a standard means whereby the U.S. Government can grant persons in the U.S. from being returned to the dangerous circumstances of their country of origin while permitting them to work during the period of their U.S. stay. The interim President of Haiti has asked the U.S. administration to grant TPS to Haitians, but thus far the Bush administration has not moved on his request. The statement of the south Florida religious leaders calls on the President "to endorse a policy to halt all deportations to Haiti and to designate Haiti for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for a period of eighteen months." The statement points out that "the combination of storm damage and political unrest in Haiti represent the extraordinary and temporary conditions that the TPS statute is intended to address."
EMM director Richard Parkins noted that TPS has been used repeatedly on behalf of Liberians, Salvadorans, and Hondurans and nationals of other countries when the circumstances of their countries would have made their return difficult. Also, countries in turmoil are often reluctant to absorb returning nationals because of the fragility of their socio-economic systems. The civil unrest in Haiti combined with recent natural calamities represent precisely the circumstances for which TPS is intended; yet Haitians are now being deported to a dangerously uncertain future. This is happening even as the United Nations has advised their civilian personnel in Haiti to evacuate the country.
Joining in the appeal were spokespersons for the Jewish, Roman Catholic, and other Protestant denominations. The leaders called for "an expression of compassion for our Haitian brothers and sisters in their time of great need" and an end to deportations to Haiti.
The text of the letter follows:
October 27, 2004
President George W. Bush
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
Washington, DC 20500
Dear President Bush:
The undersigned Florida religious leaders share a deep pastoral concern for the health and safety of Haitians currently in the United States if they are returned to Haiti. We are also deeply concerned about the impact of such returns on the Haitian people as they continue to suffer from extensive death, displacement and damage from natural disasters compounded by ongoing civil unrest. In addition to extensive flooding earlier in the year, the Haitian people have suffered from Hurricanes Ivan and Frances and Tropical Storm Jeanne. Based on the Congressional Research Office, the four natural disasters killed 4,197 people and left homeless well over 300,000. We therefore urge you to publicly endorse a policy to halt all deportations to Haiti and designate Haiti for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for 18 months.
A designation of TPS would permit Haitians living in the United States to reside here legally and qualify for work authorization for the designated period. The designation may be based exclusively on a finding that there has been an environmental disaster in Haiti resulting in a substantial, but temporary, disruption of living conditions. A designation based on natural disaster must come pursuant to a Haitian official's request, explaining that the country is unable, temporarily, to handle adequately the return of its citizens. Haitian Prime Minister Gerard La Tortue wrote such a letter on September 30, to Secretary of State Colin Powell:
The floods of the last two weeks, which have devastated large portions of the country, compounded with the extraordinary conditions which have beset our country during the past year, have strained the meager resources of the Haitian Government and rendered us temporarily unprepared to handle adequately the return of our nationals.
While Haiti merits TPS designation for the natural disasters alone, the ongoing civil unrest in Haiti makes the designation even more urgent. Reports from faith-based groups in Haiti, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), State Department officials, and the Congressional Research Office indicate that the civil unrest and environmental disasters have led to ongoing breakdown of government law enforcement. Lootings, muggings, and random acts of violence are still occurring frequently, both in the countryside and in urban areas. Some 3,000 UN forces are in Haiti working hard to stabilize the situation, but the situation remains very volatile. In an October 14, 2004 travel warning, the U.S. Department of State told people not to travel to Haiti, describing a "volatile security situation" and "a noticeable escalation in criminal and gang activity since September 30."
An additional reason for this TPS designation is that the Haitian people are increasingly dependent on the remittances that their families send back to them from outside of Haiti. According to the Inter-American Development Bank and other sources, remittances accounted for 24 percent of Haiti's gross domestic product in 2001. The critical role of remittances can only have increased with the deterioration in Haiti since 2001.
It is clear that the combination of storm damage and political unrest in Haiti represent the extraordinary and temporary conditions that the TPS statute is intended to address. As an expression of compassion for our Haitian brothers and sisters in their time of great need, we urge you to adopt a policy to designate TPS for Haitians and to stop deportations to Haiti.
Please respond to us in care of Joan Maruskin (jmaruskin@churchworldservice.org).
Yours truly,
Edward R. Benoway, Bishop
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Florida-Bahamas Synod
The Most Rev. John C. Favalora, Archbishop
Roman Catholic Church, Diocese of Miami
The Rt. Reverend Leo Frade, Bishop
Episcopal Church, Diocese of Southeast Florida
Rev. Dr. Jonas Georges
Presbytery of Tropical Florida Presbyterian Church, USA
Mrs. Marie Hineman, Former National Director
Alliance of Women Ministries of The Christian and Missionary Alliance
Charles Leigh, Bishop
Apostolic Catholic Church
The Right Reverend John B. Lipscomb, D. Min., Bishop
The Episcopal Church, Diocese of Southwest Florida
Rev. T. Grady and Evelyn Mangham, Former Regional Director
The Christian and Missionary Alliance
Rev. Forrest Mangham, Retired Pastor
The Christian and Missionary Alliance
Rev. Dr. Paige M. McRight, Executive Presbyter of Central Florida Presbytery
Presbyterian Church, USA
Rev. William C. Morrison, Jr., Regional Minister
Christian Church in Florida, Disciples of Christ
The Rt. Reverend James H. Ottley, Assistant Bishop
Episcopal Church, Diocese of Southeast Florida
Rabbi Solomon Schiff, Chaplaincy Director
Greater Miami Jewish Federation
Rev. Joe Suder, Retired Executive
Overseas Missionary Fellowship
The Rev. Tim W. Whitaker, Bishop of Florida Area
The United Methodist Church
Rev. Dr. Sam and Marianna Wilson, President
Academy for Evangelism in Theological Education