Miami-Dade Commissioner and community activists call on President Bush to grant temporary protective status to Haitians

MIAMI – Miami-Dade County Commissioner Audrey M. Edmonson urged President Bush to grant temporary protective status (TPS) to Haitians at a press conference on Thursday, November 20 at the Miami-Dade Board of County Commission Press Room.

Commissioner Edmonson was joined fellow County Commissioner Barbara J. Jordan; City of Miami Commissioner Joe Sánchez; Rev. Dr. Harold Vieux, Chair of the Miami-Dade County Community Relations Board (CRB) and CRB Fair Immigration Committee; Carlos Pereira, Executive Director of Centro de Orientación del Inmigrante; Marleine Bastien, Executive Committee of the Haitian American Grassroots Coalition; and Jose Lagos, President of Honduran Unity.

At the press conference, Commissioner Edmonson stated that granting TPS to Haitians living in the U.S. is needed now more than ever in light of escalating food prices, four devastating storms, and the collapse of two schools in Haiti – all events taking place this year that have severely affected living conditions on the island.

In making this appeal to the administration, Commissioner Edmonson said, “We know now that it is the right thing to do to grant Temporary Protected Status to Haitians. And it is in this spirit that we are urging the Bush administration to grant TPS to our Haitians residents.”

(L-R) Miami-Dade County Commissioners Audrey M. Edmonson and Barbara J. Jordan, and Marleine Bastien, Executive Committee, Haitian American Grassroots Coalition.
Commissioner Edmonson continues to be an advocate for humanitarian aid for Haiti. She and Commissioner Jordan, joined by Com. Dennis Moss, visited Haiti this summer where they distributed donated food to some of Haiti’s most impoverished citizens. They plan to return to Haiti in the immediate future.