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Shipboard Processing of Asylum Claims By Haitian Refugees:
Statement of Lucas Guttentag, Director
ACLU National Immigrants Rights Project,

For IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 15, 1994

     "With the government preparing to begin shipboard processing of the
asylum claims of Haitian refugees, the American Civil Liberties Union
calls on the House Subcommittee on International Law, Immigration, and
Refugees, which conducts hearings today, to recognize the profound
shortcomings of the Clinton Administration's plan.  We believe the
unchecked brutality and political persecution in Haiti warrant granting
temporary safe haven to all Haitians interdicted at sea.  Short of that
simple solution, the Administration must assure that Haitians recieve a
meaningful opportunity to present their claims.

     "The Administration should not continue to discriminate against
Haitian refugees by applying a higher standard for Haitians than for
nationals of the former Soviet Union and designated Southeast Asian
countries.  It should also allow volunteer lawyers to represent refugees
in their claims, use only qualified Asylum Officers to make these
life-or-death decisions and permit Haitians with a credible fear of
persecution to come to the United States, where they could present their
claims with the assistance of a volunteer attorney.

     "The interdiction and shipboard processing of Haitian refugees
appears deliberately designed to deny Haitians the procedural safeguards
they would receive if their claims were heard in the United States.  For
example, the Administration has said that even volunteer attorneys,
willing to represent Haitian refugees at no expense to the government,
will not be allowed.  The only explanations offered have been the
logistical constraints of the processing site and the supposed absence of
counsel in overseas refugee interviews. In fact, lawyers are not
prohibited overseas and logistical considerations should not dictate the
legal rights of refugees when minor changes could mean the difference
between life or death.

     "The ACLU urges the Administration to give the same consideration to
Haitians fleeing repression and who, if forcibly repatriated, face
possible torture or death, as the United States grants to all other
refugees and asylum applicants.  Principles of equal treatment and
humanitarian protection demand no less." 

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