•  
  •  
 

St. Thomas Law Review

Nicholas Merlin

First Page

163

Document Type

Comment

Abstract

In the aftermath of September 11th, the world questioned how nineteen terrorists could have lived for so long in the United States without being detected. The media, once a champion for immigration woes, denounced immigration policy as a toothless farce, swaying to the pressure of activist groups. Naturally, America heightened its state of alert and tightened its fists, closing its borders until it could implement a system for weeding out "undesirable" aliens and monitoring potential threats to homeland security. Due to those restrictive measures, however, many asylum-seeking groups, which found it difficult to gain access to the United States before the terrorist attacks are now facing even greater challenges to enter the country. This article is an analysis of United States immigration policy for one of those marginalized groups, the Haitians, by examining current and proposed legislation affecting asylum-seekers from the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. Part I of this article will provide an overview of United States refugee and asylum law in the years since the Cuban Revolution, examining the intent of the Cuban Adjustment Act ("CAA") of 1966--an act for which there have been relatively narrow exceptions and qualifications, and the effects of its successors on modern adjustment legislation. Part II will discuss Haitian adjustment and its brethren, illustrating shifts in immigration policy during the past ten years as the United States responded to international crises and changing political conditions. Part III will highlight some of the debates regarding treatment between different asylum seeking groups, and will describe the evolution of various restrictive immigration regulations for "other groups" through such legislation as the Haitian Refugee Immigration Fairness Act of 1998, the Central American and Haitian Adjustment Act of 1999, and the proposed Haitian Immigrant Equitable Adjustment Act of 2002. Part IV will provide a synthesis of those acts, including an analysis of the legal and political response of American courts and administrative agencies to such policies as the Immigration and Naturalization Service's Haitian Program of 1978 and the Expedited Removal Rule of 2002. Part V will evaluate and compare the restrictions in place for both the Cubans and the Haitians. Finally, Parts VI and VII will provide a retrospectus5 of where immigration law has been and a prospectus for where it is going, including recommendations and considerations for new immigration policy.

Download

Share

COinS