Urgent Action Alert:
Demand Justice for Dantica and TPS for Haitians

Caught in the terrifying crossfire of the political violence and lawlessness that has gripped Haiti since September, 81-year old Joseph Dantica ran to the United States, seeking shelter and comfort in the arms of his family.

Instead, he faced the hellish nightmare Haitian refugees before him have confronted when seeking asylum in the US: held overnight at Miami International Airport, placed in detention at Krome North, isolated from family, friends and legal help, facing an Immigration bureaucracy that from the top down has been hostile to Haitians’ claims of fear of persecution. He arrived in Miami on October 29 with a valid passport and multi-year visa, and was pronounced dead on November 3, in Immigration custody.

Rev. Dantica was a man of faith who put his fate in the hands of the US government. A visitor to the US since the 1970s, he had little intention of spending the rest of his life in the US. He hoped to return home when peace and calm were restored. He was instead treated like a pauper. Neither his frequent visits to the US, nor his close relationship with his famous niece, celebrated Haitian-American writer Edwidge Danticat, compelled a more humane government response.

Send a letter now to President George W. Bush demanding Justice for Dantica and Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haitians!

For more information, please see:

NCHR Statements on Dantica and TPS:

• New York, November 19, 2004 -- Reverend Joseph Dantica Did Not Have to Die in Immigration Detention. It’s Time to End Policies That Single Out Haitians for Mean Treatment.

• New York, November 19, 2004 -- Backgrounder on Human Rights Conditions in Haiti.

• New York. November 17, 2004 -- Haitian Asylum-Seeker Dies in Immigration Custody. Haitian Rights Coalition Calls for Full Investigation.

Timeline: Events Preceding Dantica's Tragic Death Events Preceding The Death of the Rev. Joseph N. Dantica

Other Statements:

• Human Rights First: Baptist Minister Dies in US Immigration Jail

• Amnesty International: Urge Investigation into the Death of rev. Joseph Dantica

• Church World Service: Detention and Death of 81-year old Pastor Appalling

Dantica and TPS in the Media:

• NY Daily News, Nov. 28, 2004 -- A Death Bares America's Biased Policy

• Associated  Press, Nov. 27, 2004 -- Death of Man, 81, in US Custody, Another Haitian Tragedy.

• New York Times, Nov. 24, 2004 -- A Very Haitian Story, by Edwidge Danticat.

• New York Newsday, Nov. 21, 2004 -- Rev. Dantica, Haitian Who Died in Fed Custody.

• New York Post, Nov. 21, 2004 -- Tears, Rage Over Haitian Refugee Who Died in Fed Jail.

• New York Times, Nov. 21, 2004 -- New York Was Our City on the Hill, by Edwidge Danticat

• The Guardian, Nov. 20, 2004 -- Preacher's Death Prompts Protest.

• Associated Press, Nov. 19, 2004 -- Family, Activists Seek Answers in Death of Haitian Minister

• New York Daily News, Nov. 19, 2004 -- Fury Over Haitian Author's Kin.

• St. Petersburg Times, Nov. 19, 2004 -- Haitian Pastor Dies on US Doorstep.

• South Florida Sun-Sentinel, Nov. 17, 2004 -- Human Rights Groups Urge Probe Into Death of Haitian in US Custody.

• Associated Press, Nov. 17, 2004 -- Probe Sought in Haitian Detainee's Death.

• Miami Herald, Nov. 17, 2004 -- Probe Requested in Death of Haitian Man in Federal Custody

• Miami Herald, Nov. 14, 2004 -- Twice a Victim, First in Haiti then the US

To view Acrobat files, you need Adobe Reader. To download your free Adobe Reader, please click here