VTMBH Article: Body
<i>U.S. Senator Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) has urged President Bush to end a policy that keeps only Haitian immigrants behind bars during political asylum cases. Nelsons call came after a tour here of a detention center for Haitian women with U.S. immigration policy czar James Ziglar.</i>
Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) Commissioner James Ziglarin his first visit to see firsthand the plight of dozens of Haitian refugees detained since last Decembercame at Senator Bill Nelsons request, as did a number of other state and local elected officials. Lt. Governor Frank Brogan came on behalf of Florida Governor Jeb Bush.
Today we shine the spotlight on the presidents unfair and discriminatory policy to detain Haitian asylum seekers, Nelson said, after the group of political and business leaders interviewed female detainees inside the Turner Guilford Knight Detention Center. And because of this spotlight, the administration is feeling the heat for a policy that must be changed.
The administration secretly created its detention policy on Haitian refugees last December after the Coast Guard rescued 176 Hatiains packed onto a 50-foot sailboat off Biscayne National Park. Some 240 Haitians seeking asylum now are held at Krome Detention Center and Turner Guilford Knight. Other nationalities are set free pending their asylum cases.
INS officials had said that the blanket policy toward Haitians is meant to discourage a mass migration at sea. When the policy came to light in March, the Florida Immigration Advocacy Center sued the INS. In May, Nelson asked Ziglar to inspect the conditions of the Haitians for himself, resulting in Mondays visit.
During the one-hour tour, one of the officials invited by Nelson, North Miami Mayor Joe Celestin, threatened to leave the Republican Party if the Bush administration doesnt change its policy. Sen. Bob Graham (D-Fla.) issued a prepared statement, saying, I hope that, upon (Ziglars) return to Washington, he will consult with other officials involved in setting this policy and reverse it.
Graham couldnt attend because he was working on legislation to be heard in the Senate this week. Among those present also included: Rep. Carrie Meek; state Sen. Kendrick Meek; Miami Mayor Manny Diaz; Marlene Bastien of the Haitian Women of Miami, Inc.; Peter Roulhac, chairman-elect of the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce; Robin Reiter, chairwoman-elect of the Beacon Council; Vice-Chair for Immigration Gilbert Lee Sandler of the Greater Miami Chamber; and staff from both Nelson and Grahams offices.
Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) Commissioner James Ziglarin his first visit to see firsthand the plight of dozens of Haitian refugees detained since last Decembercame at Senator Bill Nelsons request, as did a number of other state and local elected officials. Lt. Governor Frank Brogan came on behalf of Florida Governor Jeb Bush.
Today we shine the spotlight on the presidents unfair and discriminatory policy to detain Haitian asylum seekers, Nelson said, after the group of political and business leaders interviewed female detainees inside the Turner Guilford Knight Detention Center. And because of this spotlight, the administration is feeling the heat for a policy that must be changed.
The administration secretly created its detention policy on Haitian refugees last December after the Coast Guard rescued 176 Hatiains packed onto a 50-foot sailboat off Biscayne National Park. Some 240 Haitians seeking asylum now are held at Krome Detention Center and Turner Guilford Knight. Other nationalities are set free pending their asylum cases.
INS officials had said that the blanket policy toward Haitians is meant to discourage a mass migration at sea. When the policy came to light in March, the Florida Immigration Advocacy Center sued the INS. In May, Nelson asked Ziglar to inspect the conditions of the Haitians for himself, resulting in Mondays visit.
During the one-hour tour, one of the officials invited by Nelson, North Miami Mayor Joe Celestin, threatened to leave the Republican Party if the Bush administration doesnt change its policy. Sen. Bob Graham (D-Fla.) issued a prepared statement, saying, I hope that, upon (Ziglars) return to Washington, he will consult with other officials involved in setting this policy and reverse it.
Graham couldnt attend because he was working on legislation to be heard in the Senate this week. Among those present also included: Rep. Carrie Meek; state Sen. Kendrick Meek; Miami Mayor Manny Diaz; Marlene Bastien of the Haitian Women of Miami, Inc.; Peter Roulhac, chairman-elect of the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce; Robin Reiter, chairwoman-elect of the Beacon Council; Vice-Chair for Immigration Gilbert Lee Sandler of the Greater Miami Chamber; and staff from both Nelson and Grahams offices.