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.

Haitians in the US have had a hard time fitting in because they have suffered from federal policies that targeted them as simply opportunistic job-seekers and refused to acknowledge the lack of democratic freedoms as the key cause of poverty in Haiti, and thus the reason for their emigration. Exclusionary immigration policies generally set the tone for State and municipal policy. Additionally, their unique history, language and character set them apart from other immigrant groups from Latin America and the Caribbean who spoke either Spanish or English and therefore could more easily move into the mainstream. In the early 1980s, Haitians were singled out as carriers of the HIV virus to the United States and were stigmatized.

Today the Department of City Planning estimates the foreign-born population of Haitian origin at about 100,000, of which 50% are not English-proficient. Other estimates of the community of Haitians are much higher. Regardless, the services available to facilitate the integration of Haitian immigrants in the life of New York City have not always been adequate. They got by with the assistance of self-help groups that helped them adapt to their new environment. A few of these groups, including HAUP, continue to provide dearly-needed services with limited resources. We are thankful for the support that we get from State and City Agencies, yet our limited resources hinder our ability to have more of an impact on the speed at which Haitian immigrants integrate and contribute to the civic and political life of this City.

Executive Order No. 120 is a Step Forward

About 9 months ago, on July 22, 2008 Mayor Michael Bloomberg issued an order directing 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.”

Like many of our CBO colleagues and advocates, we hailed Executive Order No. 120 as a significant step forward. It obligated city agencies to develop plans to provide services in Haitian Creole, along with Spanish, Chinese, Russian, Korean, and Italian. These plans were to include:

1. Identification and translation of “essential public documents.”
2. Interpretation services.
3. Training of frontline workers and managers on language access policies and procedures.
4. Posting of signage in conspicuous locations about the availability of free interpretation services.
5. Establishment of an appropriate monitoring and measurement system.
6. Creation of appropriate awareness strategies for the agencies’ service populations.

City agencies were given 45 days from the effective date of the order to appoint a Language Access Coordinator and to develop plans by January 1, 2009. We are thankful to the City’s Office of Immigrant Affairs which published on its website all the plans developed so far and made it possible for us to assess and compare them to the needs we see in the Haitian community.

Our Concerns

Most of the plans put forward so far call for full implementation of the language access policy in two to three years. They all call for the development of agency-wide language banks (where and if none exists), the use of contractors to provide language services, staff training as appropriate, means to identify language needs and to evaluate how well they are complying with the Executive Order. It’s all well, except that:

1. Implementation should be speeded up. We are fully aware that adequate implementation of the language access policy takes time and effort, because staff has to be trained and adapt to policies that are only now catching with the reality that New York City today truly embodies the melting pot. Yet we believe that the timeline inevitably and needlessly leaves immigrants with language access needs behind, particularly at this critical juncture in the City’s life when economic growth has slowed down, unemployment is high and the need for skilled navigation of the services that the City offers to its residents greater than in boom times.
2. No one ethnic group can claim to be in the majority since the City has become so diversified. Although we subscribe to the notion that all New Yorkers, regardless of their background and ethnicity should be able to communicate in the English language, and share a common culture, we also believe that the embrace of multicultural diversity leads to more tolerance and understanding of “the other.” More importantly it leads to more effective delivery of services, and greater understanding between the provider and the recipient. This truth is not readily apparent to city agency workers who are burdened with keeping the city functional while earning relatively modest wages.
3. Translators or interpreters are not always available at city agencies. Our staff continues to escort clients to school, hospital and Medicaid appointments because usually agency-provided translators are unavailable as promised.
4. When translators/interpreters were present, the quality of their translation was poor. The assumption that an employee of Haitian origin is automatically fluent in both Haitian Creole and English is the wrong assumption. We have encountered employees whose English communications skills are poor and whose Haitian Creole skills were even more mediocre.
5. Translating documents and providing them to Haitian newcomers – as some schools have done in order to empower parents — is insufficient. We usually find ourselves being called upon to explain to the parents the content of the documents and to mediate with school officials. Lost in translation is the understanding that Haitian parents may have no more than a primary school education under their belt, that the words used in the Creole translation – which are unfortunately mostly literal translations – may not convey the message accurately, and that the translated content as a whole is beyond the grasp of the Haitian parent.
6. We note that the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene plans on translating “essential documents” only in Chinese and Spanish, because they account for 96% of the demand on the Department’s services. We disagree with such an approach which assumes that demand for other language services will remain proportionately flat.

Recommendations

We truly believe that if implemented as intended Executive Order No. 120 will trigger greater demand on the services provided by city agencies. New York City’s immigrants and new Americans will also get involved to a greater degree in municipal affairs. And as a result, the City will be really representative of its constituents.

We recommend that the pace at which plans for implementing the language access executive order be faster rather than slower. We appreciate the fact that turning the ship of state around, in other words retrofitting it to respond to a constituency that has grown more diverse, is not a simple matter. We know that it takes time and resources, which is why we believe that more resources should be made available to implement the order. The returns will substantially justify the costs.

We also recommend that there be closer consultation and cooperation with community-based organizations like HAUP which remains on the front line of efforts to ensure the smooth integration of new Americans of Haitian origin as well as those hailing from other nationalities. Our role as advocates and facilitators for the community members who seek our services makes us ideal partners with the city agencies that seek to develop winning strategies and plans. We know intimately the issues that they face. We can walk them through the system when the system itself remains unresponsive. If we are unable to do so, our failure is simply due to the lack of resources on hand. Consequently our final recommendation is that of a stronger partnership with HAUP and other agencies like it, a partnership that should result in a greater capacity to deliver meaningful services to our constituents and empower them to take a more active part in the City’s well-being.

The Committee heard testimony from 4 Haitian-Americans, among them Bishop Guy Sansaricq. Jocelyn McCalla testified on behalf of Haitian-Americans United for Progress (HAUP). Following is the statement that was delivered at the hearing.

Statement of Haitian-Americans United for Progress

Hearing on Res. No. 1595

April 20, 2009

My name is Jocelyn McCalla and I want to begin by thanking the Committee on Immigration for extending an invitation to testify to Haitian-Americans United for Progress (HAUP). Temporary Protected Status (TPS) is an important measure that has long been denied Haitian nationals in the United States although they have clearly qualified since the measure was adopted by the US government. I will go more in depth on this matter but allow me to first say a few words about my organization, HAUP.

HAUP stands uniquely in the NY City area as the oldest community-based organization that emerged 34 years ago to help resettle and integrate Haitian asylum-seekers as well as advocate on their behalf. Amongst our founders, we proudly include Bishop Guy Sansaricq, a refugee from the Duvalier dictatorship which caused thousands of Haitians to immigrate to the United States and make New York City their home. We like to believe that it is thanks to the efforts deployed by HAUP and other Haitian CBOs and advocacy organizations that today many Haitian-Americans can be found at the helm of some of the leading private and public sector institutions that make NY such a great city.

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 services to anyone who qualifies. We serve annually some 15,000 people. We are thankful to the City and the State of New York which fund many of our programs. We are most thankful for the strong support of Councilman Leroy Comrie and the good relations that we have had with many of the members of the Council, and in particular members of this Committee.

I have long been involved with promoting Haitians’ rights under US and international law. As the Executive Director of the National Coalition for Haitian Rights (NCHR) for almost 20 years, I have testified several times before Congress on issues of asylum, refugee rights and fairness. The NCHR led national campaigns that resulted in the adoption of the Cuban-Haitian Adjustment Act in 1986 (as part of the Immigration Reform and Control Act) and the Haitian Refugee and Immigration Fairness Act in 1998. Together these Acts rendered about 90,000 Haitian immigrants and refugees eligible for legal permanent resident status.

In addition to campaigning on behalf of Haitian immigrants and refugees, I have taken up the cause of Haitians living in Haiti and elsewhere, promoting their human rights in US and international forums. I have served on the Boards of Directors of the New York Immigration Coalition, the National Immigration Forum, the Haitian Studies Association, and the Board of Advisers to Human Rights Watch/Americas. I have written several reports and monographs documenting human rights conditions in Haiti and the Dominican Republic and worked closely with US, United Nations and regional institutions to help shape policies that would benefit the people of Haiti. This said, I have had the opportunity to come before the NYC Council in the past to testify and I am pleased to do so again on behalf of HAUP.

HAUP Supports Res. No. 1595

Exactly a month ago on March 20, President Barack Obama signed an Executive Order extending the temporary stay in the US of an estimated 3,500 Liberians for another 12 months. Liberians breathed a sigh of relief because their current stay of deportation would have expired on March 31st, 2009.

What distinguishes Haitians from Liberians? The circumstances that led to their seeking refuge in the United States are not different. Political upheaval, a shattered economy, a dysfunctional and feeble government, the presence of thousands of UN peacekeepers, these are the common ground that justify the presence of Haitians and Liberians on American soil.

The main argument against granting TPS to Haitians boils down to the fear that it will trigger a massive exodus from Haiti. We respectfully disagree and here is why:

1. With near-zero forest cover Haiti cannot provide for enough wood to build the boats that would support a “massive” exodus. It bears to remind ourselves that the last major influx of boat people to the United States occurred in 1980 when 125,000 Cuban refugees and about 18,000 Haitians made it to the shores of Florida. The Mariel exodus as the Cuban exodus was called was heavily facilitated by boats deployed from Florida to pick up the Cubans whom the Cuban government allowed to leave en masse at the time. That was almost 30 years ago.

2. US coast guard cutters have been patrolling the waters just outside of Haiti since September 1981 when President Ronald Reagan signed an executive order specifically targeting Haitian refugees. The Haitian Migrant Interdiction Operation authorized US coast guardsmen to intercept on the high seas any vessels flying the Haitian flag or carrying Haitians, and return its passengers to Haiti after a perfunctory interview that paid lip service to the prohibition against refoulement contained in the UN Convention on the Status of Refugees.

3. The US does not plan on suspending Coast Guard interdiction: not now, not in the future. Interdiction remains a key component of US policy towards Haiti although it is carried out with little fanfare. It is effective: the Coast Guard catches most Haitian boat people before they are too far away from Haitian shores. In 1992 and 1994, during the period when a military junta ruled Haiti with an iron hand, the US Coast Guard intercepted more than 60,000 Haitian boat people. It coordinates its interdiction operations with the Bahamas which promptly repatriates Haitians who wash ashore or found floating at sea near their shores.

4. President Bill Clinton granted Deferred Enforcement Departure (DED) to Haitian immigrants in the US. DED is a modified form of TPS. Granting DED did not lead to mass exodus from Haiti. Later, President Clinton supported the enactment of the Haitian Refugee Immigration Fairness Act (HRIFA), a measure that had the unanimous support of the members of the Congressional Black Caucus and many other members from both parties. Enactment of HRIFA did not lead to mass exodus. In fact there has been no mass exodus from Haiti in the last 15 years!

There is Widespread Support for TPS for Haitians

Most of the major US Newspapers have argued that Haitians should be granted TPS. They include the NY Times, the NY Daily News, the Washington Post, the Chicago Tribune, the San Francisco Chronicle and the Miami Herald among others. National groups, such as the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, the NAACP, the National Immigration Forum and several state-wide immigration coalitions have affirmed or reaffirmed support for the temporary measure.

The Council of the City of NY would not be out of step with the mainstream of American thoughts by voting in favor of Res. 1595. In fact it would be an additional signal to the Obama Administration that the constituency for TPS for Haitians continues to grow and now enjoys the support of a city that is home to a significant segment of the Haitian Diaspora.

We see signs that the Administration is listening. Last week, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton indicated during a visit to Haiti that the Administration was seriously considering reversing past policies and granting Haitians the well-deserved respite from fears of deportation. We urge the Council to put TPS for Haitians on a fast track by not wasting another minute in approving the sensible resolution that is before this Committee.

Let’s be clear however: the resolution supports a legislative remedy, but the White House has the power now to act. It does not need the force of legislation to do so. That power was given the Executive Branch long ago. President Obama should do the right thing by Haitians. The NYC Council should help him take that step promptly.

The City of New York Should Support TPS Implementation

Should TPS be granted – and we truly hope that it will be sooner rather than later – it is estimated that more than 30,000 Haitians would be eligible, many from New York City. TPS is temporary protection from deportation. It may be granted for no more than 18 months. At his discretion, the President can extend TPS as he has done in the case of the Liberians and as has been done for Salvadorans, Guatemalans, Hondurans, Nicaraguans and others.

There may be a limit placed on the registration period and there may not be sufficient information provided to eligible Haitians to educate them about the benefits, the eligibility criteria and most importantly the need to emerge out of the shadows to qualify.

We suggest that the Council of the City of New York consider providing monetary support to community-based organizations that, like HAUP, have the credibility and a long history of delivering quality services to Haitian immigrants and refugees.

It has long been held as a given that given its dependence on remittances from abroad, Haiti would benefit the most from TPS. Haiti will certainly benefit. We suggest however that municipalities like NY, which hosts a large number of TPS beneficiaries, benefit tremendously from having constituents who possess a legal work permit and can contribute to the revenues from taxation. Consequently it is in the best interests of the people of NY to ensure maximum Haitian participation in an eventual TPS program. We believe that the benefits to New York City outweigh the costs associated with TPS implementation.

In conclusion, we wish to commend the sponsors of Resolution 1595 for their vision and support for TPS for Haitians. Adoption of the resolution will send a strong signal to the Obama Administration and Congress that New York City, home to hundreds of thousands of Haitians, remains sensitive to the needs of its constituents and looks forward to the day when we can celebrate the granting of TPS to Haitians.