[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 162 (Monday, September 20, 2021)]
[House]
[Page H4546]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
HUMANITARIAN HAITIAN IMMIGRANT RELIEF
(Ms. JACKSON LEE asked and was given permission to address the House
for 1 minute.)
Ms. JACKSON LEE. Madam Speaker, I want the Haitian community in
America and in the United States to know that we have not forgotten
them.
Haiti has been a strong ally of the United States that,
unfortunately, has been caught in the quagmire of destructive poverty
and, of course, governments that sometimes have not worked. Recently,
they experienced a horrific earthquake; 800,000 people homeless.
So now that we see Haitians by the thousands coming to our border, we
have an obligation not to deport them. We have an obligation to provide
the potential review that comes about by having the number of
immigration personnel to determine their status. We have an obligation
for humanitarian relief.
I know our borders are closed; I recognize that. But I also know that
there is opportunity for asylum through credible fear, and there is
also an opportunity to deal with whether or not these individuals have
family members.
Let me simply say, Madam Speaker, the question we have now is sending
these Haitians to a country that is so impoverished and violent is not
the right way to go. Let's work together to do it right.
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