Sample Letter for Equal Treatment of Haitians:

Date

The Honorable Senator/Congressperson

ADDRESS

Washington DC -----------

Dear Senator/Congressperson:

(your name or the name of your organization), urge(s) you to support legislation to redress the inequities that Haitian immigrants suffered when the Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central American Relief Act (NACARA), which did not include relief for Haitians, was adopted. I/we will be looking to your leadership, and that of your colleagues, to advance the cause of fair treatment and equality.

Haitians like Nicaraguans fled political strife, persecution and, having arrived with little but the clothes on their backs, they have built lives, homes, businesses and obeyed our laws. Both Haiti and Nicaragua are struggling through the democratic process, though they have few resources and weak economies. Haitians should have been granted "green cards" when Congress passed NACARA which granted these benefits to Nicaraguans.

Granting "green-cards" would right another wrong. Haitians should have been granted refugee status after they were processed for fear of persecution in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, but a double standard prevailed at the time. They were given parole instead, because they were found to have credible fear. Redressing this inequity would also have the additional benefit of relieving INS from the burden of processing their asylum claims and reallocating resources to better serve the interests of the United States.

These Haitian refugees now have U.S. citizen children who have never lived in Haiti. Forcing the parents to leave the country will compel these individuals to make an agonizing choice: leave their children behind, or return with their U.S. citizen children to an unstable homeland that is foreign to them and cannot provide their basic security, health, environmental and nutritional needs.

Finally, in order for Haiti to emerge strong from its past political and economic struggles, it needs time and space. Haiti does not now have the resources to absorb returning refugees.

We/I trust that you will give due consideration to our plea for fairness and equal treatment.

Sincerely,

Print and sign your name and title