HAUP Urges Support for Haitian Family Reunification Parole Program

On January 25, 2012, the Committee on Immigration of the New York City Council held a hearing on Resolution 1096 calling upon the Department of Homeland Security to create a Haitian Family Reunification Parole Program. The Resolution, introduced by Haitian-American Councilor Mathieu Eugene, would benefit Haitians recovering from the January 12, 2010 earthquake by allowing Haitians with approved family-sponsored immigrant visa petitions to come to the United States.

Following is the statement that was delivered at the hearing on behalf of the Haitian-Americans United for Progress (HAUP)

My name is Jocelyn McCalla and I am pleased to testify today before this Committee on Resolution No. 1096, on behalf of the Haitian-Americans United for Progress (HAUP).

HAUP was founded 37 years ago by Haitian-American community leaders and advocates to help resettle and integrate Haitian asylum-seekers and immigrants in New York City. These leaders included the Most Rev. Guy Sansaricq, auxiliary bishop of Brooklyn and Ms. Carolle Berotte Joseph who is currently serving as President of Bronx Community College.

HAUP is located in Cambria Heights which is home to the largest Haitian-American enclave outside of Brooklyn. While HAUP began as a volunteer-based organization focused initially on responding to the needs of Haitian immigrants and refugees, it has since expanded and offers its multitude of services to newcomers and citizens alike. Under the leadership of Executive Director Elsie Saint-Louis, HAUP has risen to serve annually some 15,000 people who come to us from Cambria Heights proper as well as from Queens Village, Jamaica, Springfield Gardens and Laurelton. We provide services to clients in Brooklyn through our ambulatory programs. Residents of Elmont and Hempstead on Long Island also seek our services and support, since we are located so close to the border with Nassau County.

Regarding Resolution 1096

The Obama Administration responded remarkably fast and aggressively to the major catastrophe that hit Haiti some two years ago on January 12, 2010. The United States deployed thousands of troops to support the actions of a government that had literally collapsed, and to facilitate the relief and recovery response that poured from all over the world into Haiti. Stateside, it promptly granted Temporary Protected Status to Haitian non-immigrants who were in the United States at the time. Last year, the Administration extended TPS for this class and broadened it to include Haitians who had hurriedly joined their relatives after the earthquake because their livelihood had been destroyed. Most recently, the Administration has decided to allow Haitians to take part in the guest worker programs that U.S. growers and farmers use to ensure that they have sufficient legal labor to bring in the harvest.

Yet there’s one more step that the Administration could have taken and which – as Res. 1096 notes – it has not taken: it has not speeded up the family reunification process for Haitian immigrants who are already in the pipeline. These Haitians could be paroled and safely reunited with their relative sponsors in the United States while awaiting their final immigrant visa interviews. Such a program already exists for Cuban nationals. Failure to establish it for Haitians raises issues of double-standards.

HAUP supports the Resolution and urges the Committee on Immigration and the entire NY City Council to approve it. Such an action would send a very strong signal to the Obama Administration that this great city – which has one of the most diverse and productive immigrant populations in the United States – supports a Haitian Family Reunification Parole Program

Haitian Reality Today

Haiti’s recovery barely got off the ground in 2010, in spite of the close to $10 billion pledged at the March 2010 International Donors Conference, and the commitment to hasten efforts to build Haiti back better. As time went by, frustrations with political management of Haitian affairs and of the recovery efforts led both Haitians and their international allies to turn to electoral politics. These turned out to be highly controversial; a disaster was only averted by heavy-handed management of the process by the US and its key allies. Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, remains home to more than half a million internally displaced earthquake refugees. Many have returned to homes that are unsafe.

While the United States and its allies have done much in the past year to support Haiti’s recovery and reconstruction, economic growth and political stability remain a dream deferred. We hope that Haiti’s new President and legislature will provide the leadership necessary to allow for growth and prosperity. Most observers however agree that real economic progress is years away. Meanwhile, Haiti remains vulnerable to the vagaries of nature (floods, tropical storms, hurricanes) and societal misfortunes (health emergencies such as cholera outbreaks, malnutrition, increased commodities and food costs due to world price fluctuations).

Conclusion

Haitian-Americans United for Progress resolutely supports the adoption of Res. 1096. We are prepared to offer support to the beneficiaries of a Haitian Family Reunification Parole Program once it is promulgated. We can help ease resettlement woes for the newcomers, and assist their relatives who are either resident or citizens with the inevitable questions that arise in such situations. In short, we believe that this is the right thing to do and we urge the Committee and the Council to adopt the resolution unanimously.

HAUP and Kompa Guide Assemble Standing-Room Only Crowd to Commemorate the 2010 Haiti Earthquake in Mineola

The event, held at the Seat of the Nassau County Legislature, also celebrated Haiti’s Anniversary as an Independent Republic

Nassau County Executive Edward P. Mangano joined by members of the Haitian-Americans United for Progress (HAUP) and Kompa Guide at an event commemorating the 208^th Anniversary of Haiti’s Independence. The ceremony also honored the lives of tens of thousands of Haitians that died during an earthquake on January 12, 2010.

“When Haiti declared its freedom, Haitians made history, setting a precedent as the second country to declare independence in Latin America and creating the first post-colonial black-led nation in the world.  Today, we continue to see the courage of that struggle reflected in Haiti’s response to the devastating earthquake that occurred on January 12, 2010,” said County Executive Mangano.  “Despite all Haiti has endured throughout their history, Haitians have shown an unwavering strength, will, and passion to forge ahead and build a more prosperous nation.  I salute the many contributions that Haitian-Americans have made to the culture and prosperity here in Nassau County and I wish all Haitians a happy Independence Day and hope that 2012 is a year filled with peace and progress.”

The event was moderated by Haitian-American poet/performer Michèle Voltaire Marcelin whose writings and performances in English, French, and Creole are praised and sought after.  Haitian music, dance performances and gourmet meals illustrative of Haitian cuisine were also offered to guests.

“Haiti Day on January 11^th shed light on the growing contributions of Haitians to Nassau County’s diversity and economic development.  We are delighted to partner with Mr. Mangano in celebrating Haiti’s Independence and we look forward to a successful partnership,” said Elsie Saint Louis Accilien, Executive Director, The Haitian Americans United for Progress, Inc. (HAUP).

Gina Faustin, Executive Producer of Kompa Guide, added, “Many Haitian families including the Faustins settled in Nassau County in the early 1950′s and have been in integral part of its evolution, and richness. Haiti’s Independence Celebration will raise awareness to this remarkable population.”

Haitian-Americans United for Progress (HAUP) is one of the largest not-for-profit community-based organizations in the greater Cambria Heights area and Nassau County, serving approximately 15,000 people a year through a variety of programs and services that range from after-school and youth programs to remedial care for the elderly and the mentally-disabled.  HAUP has risen from its inception 35 years ago as a small volunteer-based Haitian refugee and immigrant mutual assistance association into a service agency that reaches out to the broader community of immigrants and native-born Americans.  HAUP is dedicated to providing a supportive environment through education, training, culture, networking opportunities, and other support services, that allow members of the community to successfully adapt and thrive.