May 10, 2017 The Skanner Page 9
News
AP Exclusive: US Hunts Evidence of Haitian Immigrant Crimes
By Alicia A. Caldwell
Associated Press
WASHINGTON — The
Trump administration
has begun hunting for
evidence of crimes com-
mitted by Haitian im-
migrants as it decides
whether to allow them
to continue in a human-
itarian program that has
shielded tens of thou-
sands from deporta-
tion since a devastating
earthquake.
The inquiries into any
criminal histories of Hai-
tian immigrants were
made in internal U.S.
Citizenship and Immi-
gration Services emails
obtained by The Asso-
ciated Press. They show
the agency’s policy chief
also wanted to know
how many of the roughly
50,000 Haitians enrolled
in the Temporary Pro-
tected Status program
“
But Lapan’s expla-
nation doesn’t seem to
reflect the apparent im-
portance placed on the
questions by Kovarik,
the Citizenship and Im-
migration Services head
of policy and strategy, in
repeated emails to her
staff.
“I do want to alert you
... the secretary is going
to be sending a request
to us to be more respon-
sive,” Kovarik wrote on
April 27. Addressing
the inability of agency
employees to gather the
requested information
about wrongdoing, she
said: “I know some of it
is not captured, but we’ll
have to figure out a way
to squeeze more data out
of our systems.”
The request for crimi-
nal data for an entire eth-
nic community is unorth-
odox. The law doesn’t
specify it should be a
The request fits in with
President Donald Trump’s
tough-on-immigration focus
that is a core demand of his
political supporters
gally in the United States
and has sought, unsuc-
cessfully so far, to sus-
pend refugee arrivals
and temporarily block
visitors from seven Mus-
lim-majority countries.
He has accused those in
the U.S. illegally of fuel-
ing criminality.
It is unclear if the agen-
cy is asking such ques-
tions about other recip-
ients of the temporary
protection, including im-
migrants from Honduras
and El Salvador.
Cheryl Little, executive
director of Miami-based
Americans for Immi-
grant Justice, said the
emails show that Trump
is looking to deny ben-
efits to Haitians instead
of considering their eli-
gibility for special con-
sideration. She said her
Haitian clients with Tem-
porary Protected Status
already were terrified
that their benefits would
be revoked.
“Most of them have
lived here upward of 15
years. They work hard.
They pay taxes. They
have U.S. citizen chil-
dren. They contribute
greatly to our economy,”
she said.
Trump courted the
votes of Haitian-Amer-
ican citizens in the
critical state of Flor-
ida. Campaigning in
Miami’s Little Haiti in
September, he said, “The
Haitian-American com-
munity deserves our
gratitude and our re-
spect, and I want you to
know, you have my re-
spect.”
Temporary Protected
Status is intended to be
just that, temporary. The
Obama administration
included Haiti in the pro-
gram shortly after the
January 2010 earthquake
killed as many as 300,000
people, destroyed much
AP PHOTO/GERALD HERBERT, FILE
Emails obtained by Associated Press show Trump administration has been seeking histories of Haitians
enrolled in Temporary Protected Status program
In this Jan. 26, 2010, file photo, Haitian police use sticks to try and keep the crowd in order at a food
distribution point in the Cite Soleil neighborhood in the aftermath of the Jan. 12 earthquake in Port-au-
Prince. The Trump administration is hunting for evidence of crimes committed by Haitian immigrants as
it decides whether to allow them to continue participating in a humanitarian program that has shielded
tens of thousands from deportation since the 2010 earthquake. The Homeland Security Department has
not made a final decision about Temporary Protected Status for Haiti and declined to comment on the
pre-decisional process. The Obama administration included Haiti in the program shortly after the January
2010 earthquake that killed as many as 300,000 people and devastated schools, hospitals, homes and
even entire neighborhoods.
of the capital and caused
widespread damage in
the southern part of the
Caribbean nation. Since
then, Haitians have been
eligible to stay regardless
of how they entered the
United States — legally
or illegally — as long as
they were residing here
before Jan. 12, 2011.
Eligibility for Haitians
has been repeatedly ex-
tended and is to expire
July 22. The
Trump admin-
istration must
decide by May
23 so that it
can
provide
60 days’ notice
about its plans.
USCIS’ acting
director
has
recommended
letting the pro-
gram expire.
In an April 10
memo first re-
ported by USA
Today, James
McCament
were taking advantage consideration for Tem-
of public benefits, which porary Protected Status,
they are not eligible to and the government has
never said it would use
receive.
The emails don’t make criminal rates in decid-
clear if Haitians’ mis- ing if a country’s citizens
deeds will be used to de- should be allowed to stay
termine whether they under this program. In-
can remain in the United troducing new criteria
States. The program is is likely to cause conster-
intended to help people nation among law-abid-
from places beset by war ing Haitians who may
or disasters and, normal- feel they are being penal-
ly, the decision to extend ized for the wrongdoing
it depends on whether of others.
But the request fits in
conditions in the im-
migrants’ home coun- with President Donald
tough-on-im-
try have improved. But Trump’s
emails suggest Home- migration focus that is
land Security Secretary a core demand of his
John Kelly, who will make political supporters. He
the decision, is looking at has enhanced efforts to
other criteria.
arrest people living ille-
Homeland
S ecurity
spokesman
UNIVERSITY OF OREGON PRESENTS:
David Lapan
said Tuesday
that
crimi-
nal
history
and
other
information
requested by
policy
chief
Kathy Nueb-
el
Kovarik
Lillis Albina Park, North Flint St. & Russell St., Portland
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Lapan
said
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said Haiti is no longer in
crisis despite its poverty
and political instability.
However, he wants to al-
low the Haitians to stay
until January so they
have time to make ar-
rangements to voluntari-
ly leave. If they don’t de-
part the U.S. by then, the
government could move
to deport them.
Still, Homeland Secu-
rity’s Kelly has the final
word.
The emails inquiring
about misdeeds were
sent from April 7 to May
1.
In her first week on the
job, Kovarik, the policy
chief, asked officials how
often Haitians with tem-
porary status have been
convicted of “crimes of
any kind,” and how many
See HAITI on page 11