Legal Commentary

U.S. Prepping Guantanamo For Thousands of Haitian Refugees

By Jeralyn

Back in 2004, plans were made to house up to 50,000 boat people from Haiti who had fled trying to get to the U.S. at Guantanamo. The idea was to hold them at Guantanamo until they could be returned to Haiti.

Now, the U.S. is planning to do it again.

The U.S. has begun preparing tents at Guantanamo Bay for Haitians migrants in case of a mass migration spurred by the earthquake, a senior official at the base said Wednesday.

About 100 tents, each capable of holding 10 people, have been erected and authorities have more than 1,000 more on hand in case waves of Haitians leave their homeland and are captured at sea, said Navy Rear Adm. Thomas Copeman.

Only Haitians who were in the U.S. on January 12, the day of the earthquake, will be granted Temporary Protected Status and allowed into the U.S. to live and work. So what they are saying is we are going to house Haitians in refugee tents until they can be returned to Haiti? How many years will that take? [More...]

How does this match up with President Obama's promise to Haiti last week, "You will have a friend and partner in the people of the United States today, and going forward?"

The Haitians need schools for their children, jobs and homes, not warehousing in tents on a foreign island patrolled by military guards. Surely there must be a better and more humane solution.

Full post as published by TalkLeft on January 21, 2010 (boomark / email).