Haitian Diaspora Leaders Confer with White House and Cabinet Officials on Domestic and Foreign Affairs
MIAMI – At the invitation of the White House, twelve Haitian-American leaders met with Vice-President Joseph Biden, White House Political Director Patrick Gaspard and other senior Administration officials on January 6th, 2011 to discuss matters related to Haiti and Haitian-Americans. Participating in this meeting were four members of the Haitian Diaspora Federation [HDF] — Dr. Bernier Lauredan, Sr., Dr. Joseph Baptiste, and attorneys Lionel Jean-Baptiste and Richard Champagne.
The day consisted of updates on immigration issues, mainly deportation and TPS; Haitian reconstruction on-going efforts and challenges, including Diaspora projects and proposals; and Haiti’s legislative and presidential elections of November 28th, 2010.
Haitian Presidential Election – Vice President Biden confirmed America’s steadfast commitment to help Haiti’s reconstruction and support for a fair and transparent electoral process. As a nonpolitical organization, HDF takes no position on the validity of the electoral process, but is able to assist Haitians to learn the facts and understand the possible consequences of various course of action.
Deportation – HDF joined the rest of the participants in opposing repatriation of convicted felons to Haiti at this time. In view of the severe stresses in recovering from the earthquake and surviving the cholera epidemic, attorneys Lionel Jean Baptiste and Richard Champagne requested a moratorium on deportations and others pressed for a more clearly defined reintegration process. All participants were also in agreement that processing of pending visas for 55,000 Haitians applicants must be expedited to allow immediate relief to families in Haiti and that the current authorization for those who have been granted TPS must extend beyond July 2011.The representatives of the Department of Homeland Security agreed to work closely with the participants on those issues.
Reconstruction – All participants urged the Obama Administration to include and engage Haitian-Americans in the planning, contracting, monitoring and evaluation of foreign aid for reconstruction of Haiti. HDF and its member organizations reiterated to the White House the need for an official Haitian Diaspora advisory council to inform, advice, help shape and then monitor and evaluate policies, programs and projects that affect Haiti and the Haitian Diaspora. The also placed several “shovel ready” projects on the table for funding. White House Political Director, Patrick Gaspard said, “This is the beginning of a dialogue.”
In addition to Biden and Gaspard, other White House and Executive Branch officials participating during the day were Public Engagement Director Tina Chen, representatives of the National Security Council, State Department Special Coordinator for Haiti Thomas Adams, Agency for International Development [USAID] Assistant Administrator Paul Weisenfeld, and two representatives of the Department of Homeland Security.
Members of the Federation thank the White House for its invitation to confer with them on matters of concern to the Haitian-American community.
