HAUP calls for accelerated implementation of language access policies in NY

Last May, the NYC Council’s Committee on  Immigration invited HAUP to submit testimony regarding implementation of Executive Order, an order issued by Mayor Michael Bloomberg of the City of NY which directed City Agencies to develop and implement policies on language access to facilitate the “successful integration of immigrant New Yorkers into the civic, economic and cultural life of the City.” Below are excerpts from the statement submitted to the consideration of members of the Committee by HAUP.

The Haitian Presence in New York City

Haitians began to settle legally in large numbers in New York in the 1960s. They left behind a beloved homeland which was unfortunately ruled by one of the most terrible dictatorships in the western hemisphere. Thanks to the family reunification provisions of the 1965 Immigration Act, their relatives eventually joined them in their new homes in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens. The Haitian émigrés were soon joined by asylum-seekers who came by the boatload and on tourist visas as the political and economic situation continued to worsen in Haiti through the 1970s and 1980s.

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New York City Council Adopts Unanimously Resolution Urging TPS for Haitians

The New York City Council adopted by a vote of 51-0 a resolution urging Congress to pass legislation granting Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to Haitian nationals in the United States. The unanimous vote in favor of Resolution 1595, introduced by Haitian-American Council member Mathieu Eugene, is the latest to reflect a growing sentiment across the United States that Haitians deserve to enjoy the benefits of temporary safe haven while their homeland and its international allies come up with a winning strategy for growth, safety, political stability and poverty reduction.

TPS is a measure enacted as part of the Immigration Act of 1990 that provides temporary relief from deportation and a work permit  to “aliens in the United States who are temporarily unable to safely return to their home country because of ongoing armed conflict, an environmental disaster, or other extraordinary and temporary conditions.”

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