Haitian Refugee Immigration Fairness Act Enacted into Law
Congress, White House Include Bill in Final Omnibus Appropriations Act

The legislation allows approximately 50,000 Haitian nationals presently in the United States, many whom fled persecution in their homeland in the aftermath of the overthrow of the Aristide government in the early 1990s, to apply for legal permanent resident (LPR) status in the United States. The enactment of the legislation represents the culmination of a bipartisan effort to provide relief to this deserving population.

Final enactment came after the measure cleared numerous legislative hurdles, and after it appeared many times to be dead for the year. Senators Bob Graham and Connie Mack of Florida added the legislation to the Senate version of the Treasury/Postal appropriations bill, only to have the appropriations bill die on the House floor over several controversial issues, including the Haitian provision. When the Senate refused to consider a revised House-passed Treasury/Postal bill which did not include the Haitian legislation, the issue became a subject between Congressional leadership and White House officials negotiating the omnibus appropriations bill. After interventions from MRS and other advocacy groups, both sides agreed to include the Haitian legislation in the final omnibus appropriations bill.

"The path of the bill was certainly a roller coaster ride," said Abigail Price, policy advisor on immigration issues for MRS. "I'm just glad our side came out on top."

Bishop John S. Cummins, bishop of Oakland and chairman of the Committee on Migration, issued a statement October 21 praising the action of Congress and the White House in protecting this population from possible removal back to Haiti.

"With enactment of this legislation, this group of Haitians can finally rest in the knowledge that they will not face removal back to Haiti," Bishop Cummins stated. "We are hopeful that in the future Congress will extend equal relief to others who are similarly situated."

Specifically, the legislation allows for Haitians in the U.S. since 1995 to apply for legal permanent residence if they are:

• a person who was under the age of 21 years when they arrived in the U.S. and on December 31, 1995, and who were without their parents and have remained without parents since their arrival, or were abandoned by parents or guardians prior to April 1, 1998;
  
• a person "paroled" in to the U.S. because he or she was found to have a credible fear of persecution;
  
• a person who had applied for asylum prior to Dec. 31, 1995; or
  
• a person who had been "paroled" into the U.S. for emergent reasons or for public interest reasons.
  

In a statement at the press conference announcing the event, Sister Charlotte Hobelman, SND, coordinator of the Migrant Apostolate for MRS, urged all of good will to consider the plight of the farmworkers who toil in the fields of America.

"Our purpose in participating in this event is to lift up the contributions of the migrant worker to our country, the fruits of whose labor can often be found at America's dinner table," stated Sister Hobelman. "However, many farmworkers who clean the turkeys and pick the vegetables for our Thanksgiving Day feast probably cannot afford to purchase the fruit of their labors."

Farmworkers in the United States often are faced with substandard working conditions, inadequate housing, and wages insufficient to support families. In opposing agricultural guest worker legislation in the last Congress, the U.S. Catholic bishops stated that farmworkers and their families working in the United States are often subject to in substandard housing and working conditions.

The legislation would have weakened current law by not guaranteeing adequate housing or wages for either foreign or domestic agricultural workers, and would have displaced agricultural workers presently in the United States.

The legislation, sponsored by Senator Gordon Smith (R-Ore.) and Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), would have replaced the current H-2A program and allowed agricultural producers to import foreign nationals to cultivate and harvest crops and livestock. In their rush to adjournment, Congressional leaders dropped the measure during negotiations on the omnibus spending bill after the White House expressed its strong opposition.

MRS strongly opposed the enactment of the bill because it would have allowed employers to circumvent state and federal minimum wage laws and would not have required growers to provide housing to workers. It also would have relieved employers from privately recruiting U.S. workers and enabled them to give preference to cheaper foreign labor.

Opponents of the bill fully expect the legislation to be introduced again during the next session of Congress.

Citizenship groups and others have decried the almost two-year wait for consideration of a application for citizenship. INS has stated that the reprogrammed funds will help begin a reduction in the backlog to one million by the end of 1999. According to the INS, the additional resources will pay for ongoing efforts to reduce the backlog and re-engineer the naturalization system. Backlog reductions will be focused in the five cities with the largest waiting list: Los Angeles, New York, Miami, San Francisco, and Chicago.

On a related issue, a last-minute attempt by Congressman Harold Rogers (R-Ky.), chairman of Commerce, Justice, State, and the Judiciary appropriations subcommittee, to reorganize the INS and establish a separate Bureau of Enforcement for Immigration failed in the last days of the 105th Congress. Several groups, including MRS, opposed the reorganization bill because of the potential adverse impact it could have on the provision of services to immigrants and refugees.

It is expected that this issue could again be taken up early in the New Year.

Bishop Cummins' statement, while not challenging the right of the INS to conduct raids, questioned whether raids undermined the dignity and human rights of the undocumented.

"The Church has long recognized the right of the state to control its borders and acknowledges that government maintains a responsibility to enforce immigration laws. But a critical issue remains: Is this done in such a way, both at our border and in the interior of the country, as to protect the human dignity and rights of those involved, particularly the undocumented?"

Reports from dioceses around the country have indicated that raids conducted by the INS have devastated communities and torn apart families. In many instances, persons have been chased with dogs, marked with numbers, or taken away in leg shackles. Children of those apprehended by the INS often have returned from school to an empty house, unaware of the fate of their parents.

The statement concluded that INS should seek other enforcement mechanisms to enforce the law: "Because the principles of human dignity and human solidarity are foundations of Catholic teaching, we believe that our laws and policies toward immigrants must respect the human dignity of our foreign brothers and sisters. We, therefore, urge the INS to reexamine the use of raids as an enforcement tool."

For a copy of Bishop Cummins' statement, call (202) 541-3260.

The legislation permanently restores benefits to those immigrants who entered the country prior to August 22, 1998, the enactment of the federal welfare reform law, and are registered as "not qualified" for eligibility with the Social Security Administration (SSA). Many were "not qualified" in the SSA computers because their circumstances (age, disability, lack of resources) prevented them from verifying legal status.

Representative Shaw, who originally proposed only a temporary extension of SSI to this population, agreed to a permanent extension after requests from several advocacy groups, including MRS, Catholic Charities, USA, and the National Immigration Law Center.

Many who faced the elimination of SSI benefits suffer from physical and mental disabilities, and have few resources to draw from, rendering them vulnerable to deeper poverty.

During early consideration of the bill, Most Reverend John S. Cummins, Bishop of Oakland and Chairman of the Committee on Migration, emphasized in a letter to Representative Shaw the importance of permanently extending benefits to this vulnerable population: "Because of the vulnerable nature of this population, we are concerned that a temporary extension of benefits will leave a significant number without income support at the end of six months. The relatively low number of individuals will not, in our view, impose a heavy burden on government and could prevent undue suffering for many elderly and disabled persons."

The enactment of legislation which provides relief to about 50,000 Haitians living throughout the United States represents the culmination of a multi-year, bipartisan effort to provide relief to these deserving immigrants. Many of those benefitting from this action fled persecution in their homeland and have begun new lives here in the United States. They have started families and have contributed to their local communities. With enactment of this legislation, this group of Haitians can finally rest in the knowledge that they will not face removal back to Haiti.

The welfare of the Haitian community has always been of special concern to the Catholic bishops of the United States. The Church has helped this community settle in our country, providing them resettlement services, legal assistance, and pastoral guidance. Today's action represents a just and compassionate solution to the plight of many Haitians throughout the United States. We are hopeful that in the future Congress will extend equal relief to others who are similarly situated.

The defeat of legislation to create a new Agricultural Guest Worker program underscores a recognition that farmworkers who toil in the agricultural fields of America should receive the protection of our labor laws, including sufficient housing, working conditions, and wages. The proposed legislation would not have guaranteed adequate housing or wages for either foreign or domestic agricultural workers, and would have displaced agricultural workers currently in the United States.

Unfortunately, the United States has a long history of programs that permit agricultural employers to import and exploit foreign nationals to cultivate and harvest crops. All too often, these programs have been used to bring in foreign workers who are offered little or no benefits and inadequate wages. We support the decision of the Congressional leadership and the White House to reject this legislation, and we call on our elected officials to continue to resist similar proposals in the future.

We are encouraged that during the 105th Congress, our elected officials have thoroughly chosen to examine and consider these and other immigration issues on their merits, and to correct some of the damaging consequences of welfare and immigration laws enacted during the 104th Congress.

Our policymakers also have generally refrained from using our immigrant brothers and sisters as scapegoats for domestic problems, and in some cases, have recognized their positive contributions to our country. In the months and years ahead, we will continue to urge them and all persons of good will to uphold the human dignity and human rights of the immigrant, the stranger among us.

The MRS Policy Office helped coordinate the Newark stage of the tour and hosted the two Colombians, Rosalba and Eliseo, on October 25, when they spoke at two large Catholic churches in Washington, D.C.

More than one million men, women, and children have been forced to leave their homes since 1993 because of indiscriminate violence between military, paramilitary, and guerilla groups within Colombia. Many Colombians not only find themselves displaced from their homes, but have been subject to torture, rape, kidnapping, or murder by different armed groups. Because the internally displaced are located within the border of Colombia, they do not receive the same international protection and humanitarian assistance often directed toward refugee populations.

"Because they have not crossed an international border, " stated Nathalie Lummert, MRS coordinator for the tour, "they are not considered refugees and do not receive adequate attention from the international community." "The purpose of the tour," she continued, "was to build support in the U.S. for increased humanitarian assistance to the Colombians and for efforts to end the violence in that country."

To date, the U.S. government has pledged only two million dollars in humanitarian aid to the internally displaced in Colombia. At the same time, the U.S. appropriated approximately $200 million in military aid to the Colombian government in the FY 99 federal budget.

Over the next few months, MRS plans to advocate for more U.S. humanitarian aid to Colombia to assist the internally displaced. For more information, you may contact Nathalie Lummert at 202-541-3448.

The language in the bill directs the General Accounting Office (GAO) to conduct a thorough study of expedited removal, also known as summary removal, to determine whether immigration officers are 1) improperly encouraging aliens arriving at ports of entry to withdraw their applications for admission; 2) incorrectly failing to refer such aliens for an interview by an asylum officer for a determination of whether they have a credible fear of persecution; 3) incorrectly removing such aliens to a country where they may be persecuted; and 4) detaining such aliens improperly or in inappropriate conditions.

A commission established by the law is authorized to designate experts in refugee and asylum law to assist the GAO in conducting the study. The experts may submit a report to Congress on their findings in conjunction with GAO or independently. The law also allows the GAO and the experts to have "unrestricted access to all stages of all proceedings" to conduct the study.

Since its creation in the 1996 Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRIRA), advocacy groups and others have reported abuses in the implementation of expedited removal, citing several incidents where aliens with valid asylum claims have been immediately deported upon their arrival in the U.S. MRS has testified before Congress expressing concern about the process.

The report from GAO must be submitted to Congress no later than September 30, 1999.

In the traditional sub-allocations to the world's regions, Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union received the most slots (48,000), and Latin America/Caribbean the least. The larger number reflects outflows which include Jews and others from the former Soviet Union and those uprooted by violence in the Balkans — groups admitted last year in about equal measure. For Latin America, the small number reflects fewer numbers crossing international borders. For example, while over a million people have been forced from their homes in Colombia, very few of the displaced have left their countries and are not counted as refugees.

Africa represents the only region whose numbers rose from last year, from 7,000 to 12,000. The State Department has determined that 18 African countries are eligible for Priority-three (P-3) processing, up from five last year. P-3 is a category that allows entry as refugees to an expanded number of family members of the principal. Aside from certain Africans, in FY 98 only Bosnians, Iranians, and Iraqis were designated for P-3 processing.

Pressure from the Congressional Black Caucus undoubtedly played a part in the African changes. In a July 17 letter to the President, the Caucus pressed for "increased resources in Africa to identify and process those refugees."

In East Asia, the number authorized to be admitted dropped from 14,000 to 9,000, reflecting a winding down of the Vietnamese admissions program. The ceiling for East Asia remained the same at 4,000.

This year's funding authorization again permits in-country refugee processing from Vietnam, Cuba, and the former Soviet Union.

The designation was published in the September 29, 1998 Federal Register and will extend protection to Liberians currently in the U.S. The registration period for TPS began September 29, 1998 and will remain in effect until March 29, 1999.

The Attorney General, following recommendations by several Administrative agencies, reversed earlier determinations that TPS for Liberians would expire on September 29, 1998. The Attorney General had announced a termination of TPS for Liberians on March 31, 1998, with a final six-month extension until the 29th of September. However, in a memorandum announcing the re-designation, the Justice Department stated that "the recent recurrence of armed conflict in Liberia has caused the Attorney General to reconsider TPS for Liberia."

The decision by the Attorney General pre-empted attempts in Congress to legislate a redesignation of TPS for Liberians in the Commerce, Justice, State, and the Judiciary appropriation bill.

The Justice Department estimates that about 10,000 Liberians will be allowed to receive temporary protection under the Attorney General's determination.

In 1995, the U.S. evacuated 7,000 Kurdish refugees from Northern Iraq and, because of the refusal of Turkey to process them on Turkish soil, transferred them to Guam for processing.

Because they were processed in Guam (U.S. soil), the Kurds were classified as asylees and thus subject to the annual asylee cap, which allows only 10,000 asylees per year to adjust to permanent residence. The provision contained in the final appropriations bill allows the Kurds to apply for adjustment without counting against the cap.

Unfortunately, a fee waiver for Kurds applying for adjustment was not included in the final language.

Kevin Appleby, formerly Deputy Director of the Maryland Catholic Conference, began work August 10 as the new Director of the Office of Migration and Refugee Policy. Kevin, who originally hails from Shreveport, Louisiana, graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 1984 and received his law degree from the University of Maryland in 1996. He also holds a Masters in International Affairs from The George Washington University in Washington, D.C.

Joining Kevin as new to the office are Mr. Lacy Wright, who assumes the policy advisor position focusing primarily on refugee affairs, and Ms. Nathalie Lummert, policy analyst who will assist on research and special projects. Lacy Wright comes to MRS after a distinguished career at the State Department, where he served in several posts and dealt extensively with refugee matters. Ms. Lummert holds a MSW in Social Work from The Catholic University of America and recently completed a stint at the Washington office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

Ms. Anna Jenkins begins work as Administrative Assistant for the office November 9. Anna comes from the Office of Publishing and Promotion Services at the USCC, and worked for several years at the White House.

In commenting on the new additions to the policy office, Mark Franken, executive director of MRS, expressed enthusiasm for the future of MRS' policy work.

"The Office of Migration and Refugee Policy should reach new heights with the addition of the new staff persons to complement MRS' important work in advocacy and policymaking."




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Office of Migration & Refugee Services
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
3211 4th Street, N.E., Washington, DC 20017-1194 (202) 541-3000