Oh, for FUCK'S sake..

[docwebster]

Miami — David Joseph is a little guy, about 5-foot-5, maybe 115 pounds. He's 20 years old, looks younger, and has the sluggish demeanor and sad expression of one who is deeply depressed. He has nightmares and headaches. He spends his days dressed in the blue fatigues of detainees at the federal Krome Detention Center, washing dishes at mealtimes, staring listlessly at television images broadcast in a language he doesn't understand, and praying.

"I thought I would come here for a few days and be released," he told me in a soft voice, his words translated by an interpreter. "But I watch the other people come and go, and I am stuck here."

Mr. Joseph is a refugee from Haiti who is seeking asylum in the United States. He is not a terrorist, and no one has even suggested that he is a threat to anyone. And yet he's been in federal custody for nearly two years.

An immigration judge and the Board of Immigration Appeals have ruled that he should be freed on bond, pending a final ruling on his asylum request. But the attorney general of the United States, John Ashcroft, won't let him go.

Playing his ever-present, all-encompassing terrorism card, Mr. Ashcroft personally intervened in Mr. Joseph's case, summarily blocking his release. According to the attorney general, releasing this young Haitian would tend to encourage mass migration from Haiti, and might exacerbate the potential danger to national security of nefarious aliens from Pakistan and elsewhere who might be inclined to use Haiti as a staging area for migration to the U.S.

SonofaBITCH, but November can't get here fast enough!

Comments

[framlingem.livejournal.com]

"Give us your tired, your poor, your huddled masses..."

Riiiight.

[weekendwench.livejournal.com]

I would really like to know the real reason behind not letting haitians in...they have had this stance on haitian immigration LONNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNG before sept 11th. Remeber a couple years ago about 20 Haitians endured horrible conditions on a sea voyage that killed many of their fellow immigrants and nearly killed them and we sent them all back! Every last one because we do nto accept immigrants from Haiti. Why?

[fernblatt.livejournal.com]

I think the excuse back then was that Haitians were a high risk of bringin new cases or AIDS into the country if I remember the particular excuse of the moment, I seem to remember this being the excuse of 25 years ago or so...

And what about the Cubans that are routinely sent back to possible execution or at least imprisonment for the crime of leaving Cuba.

Our stupid stance on Cuba only hurts the Cuban people, not the government. Grrrr again. You'd think the same political lobby that wants the Cuban sanctions would also lobby to give cubans a chance at freedom by entering the US.

[weekendwench.livejournal.com]

now that you mentioned it..you are right ...back then it was because of aides...now it is terrorism...by the way how many terrorists have invaded the united states via haiti? NONE!

[kylakae.livejournal.com]

I put on blinders at time about all the political bullshit in this country but this is one subject that makes me so angry. My poor brother, zipzilla can go on at length on this subject. He was in the Coast Guards in Florida and was stuck with enforcing that stupid ass "Wet Foot/Dry Foot" law. Grrr......

[fernblatt.livejournal.com]

All I can say is GRRRRRRRRR, dammit. INS has done similar things with entire families attempting to emigrate from Mexico - usually they split up the families when they put them in "holding centers" At least I've seen several such stories. Aparently if you are swarty and have a "funny name" or an accent, you are a potential threat. Welcome to 19 fucking 84 and the wonderous hand of salvation that is the Ministry of Homeland Security.

[josette.livejournal.com]

How does a 20 year old Haitian warrant this kind of concern? How does Mr. Ashcroft get "personally involved" in this particular case? How would people in an impoverished country find out about Mr. Joseph to have him as a poster child for "don't go there" I know that we accept some Haitians because my downstairs tenants are Haitian. She has a real social security number and a real job paying real taxes. Hopefully since Mr. Joseph is in the f***ing NY Times, that will help. Shining the light of media attention always shakes things loose. Which is why they won't tell us the names or timeframes of the detainees, nor are they permitted to call anyone to inform of their detention. Sucks. Sounds unconstitutional, even.

[darthgeek.livejournal.com]

Mr. Ashcroft was unmoved. He told Senator Specter: "Sometimes individual treatment is important. Sometimes it's important to make a statement about groups of people that come."

Ahh. Making an example. Of course. That's the right way to go about things

[darthgeek.livejournal.com]

Also, this may interest you. You could pay him a personal visit and express your opinions to him...