The World - News from June 9, 1989

U.S. immigration policy toward Haitian refugees is racially biased and harsh compared to the treatment of other aliens, three Florida congressmen told a panel of the House Judiciary Committee. “The U.S. has a two-faced policy,” testified Rep. Lawrence J. Smith (D-Fla.), “one for blacks who come by water . . . and one for non-blacks who happen to travel over land.” Smith and fellow Democratic Reps. Dante B. Fascell and William Lehman charged that Haitian refugees are interdicted at sea and returned to Haiti without a fair opportunity to seek political asylum, or they are detained in facilities in Florida. By contrast, they argued, illegal immigrants from Latin American are allowed to remain while they seek political asylum and can often work while their cases are investigated.