By Anil Netto
PENANG, Mar 23 (IPS) - An official guideline for employers to retrench their foreign workers ahead of local employees has alarmed civil society society groups who fear that indebted migrant workers could be sent home with inadequate compensation.
Worries about retrenchment and unemployment have been mounting as Malaysia sinks into a recession, its export-oriented economy taking a hit from a slump in global consumer demand.
In the last quarter of 2008, the economy grew by just 0.1 per cent and many fear the economy will shrink this year despite a huge 60 billion ringgit (16 billion US dollars) government stimulus package.
In January, exports dropped by 28 percent and the number of workers employed by the manufacturing sector fell by nine per cent against the previous year.
Thousands have been retrenched in the last few months. Labour Department statistics for the month of January alone show 4,325 workers retrenched of which 2,153 were local and 2,172 foreign. These of course are only reported figures.
The steady rate of retrenchments has worried the government, which has announced a principle of foreign workers first out (FWFO), meaning that employers should lay off foreign workers before they retrench locals.
Even the country's trade union movement is worried about the influx of migrant workers at a time when retrenchments are rising.
The issue came under the spotlight when the Bangladeshi labour counsellor said that 70,000 workers from that South Asian country with approved visas would be arriving soon to take up jobs in the plantation, construction and services sectors.
A senior official of the Malaysian Trades Union Congress pointed out that thousands of Bangladeshi workers were experiencing employment uncertainty. He said it would be better to revoke their visas while they were still in their country, instead of landing here and becoming unemployed or under-employed.
But activists point out that many of the foreign workers in Malaysia have paid small fortunes to agents in their home countries to work in Malaysia. Most of the foreign workers in the country are from Indonesia, Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Vietnam, Nepal and the Philippines.
They are lured here by foreign recruitment agents or representative of the more than 250 registered outsourcing countries operating in Malaysia.
If visas are cancelled, foreign workers are unlikely to obtain refunds from the agents. Bangladeshi and Indian workers, for instance, have to raise or borrow around 8,000 to 10,000 ringgit (2192 – 2740 dollars) to pay for agents fees and other charges.
Employment agreements are usually for a period of three years while work permits have to be renewed annually.
But the government has reportedly slashed its work permit approvals by over 70 percent this year. It has also approved a proposal to double the foreign workers' levy imposed on employers to discourage the hiring of foreign workers.
Activists worry that employers could pass down these higher charges for their foreign workers to absorb. In the case of restaurant owners, this could reportedly amount to 3,600 ringgit (988 dollars) per worker. Employers could also be tempted to hire undocumented workers due to the higher levies.
Foreign workers usually have to work one or two years before they can recover what they incurred - or repay the loans they took - in their home countries. If they are sent back earlier, they could well find themselves in debt upon their return home.
Indonesia has expressed fears that some 100,000 of the two million Indonesian workers in Malaysia could be retrenched as companies here shed workers.
"This has not yet happened, so don’t exaggerate it," outgoing Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi was quoted as saying in the Indonesian media during a two-day visit to Indonesia this week. "And if it ever happens, it will not only happen to migrant workers but also to Malaysians."
In a joint statement, fifty civil society groups from South and South-east Asia endorsed a statement, pointing out it would be a great injustice if Malaysian employers were allowed to prematurely terminate their foreign workers' employment agreements and send them back home.
Early termination of their employment agreements means they would usually end up in a worse condition than when they first entered into the agreement.
“This is a great injustice, and it is inhumane,” said the statement. “If there is going to be early termination of employment agreements which are for a minimum fixed period of employment, then the worker must be paid adequate compensation, at the very least basic wages for the remaining duration of their employment agreement.”
Paying migrant workers the usual termination benefits that Malaysian workers are entitled to - calculated based on the number of years in service - would not be fair either in view of the huge costs the foreign workers incurred in arriving in Malaysia.
Before they send back anybody, the employers should pay what they owe the workers, says Ruth Paul, the coordinator of the Foreign Workers Service Centre on mainland Penang.
“These workers don't have (statutory) retrenchment benefits; so if, say, they have a year remaining on their contract, the employers could pay their outstanding wages (for the remaining period) plus the cost of flight tickets,” Paul said.
She mentioned a couple of cases in the city of Ipoh recently, where migrant workers were sent back home without their wages because the company was shutting down.
Paul also fears that some employers might just shut down their factories without adequately compensating their migrant workers, leaving them in a lurch.
In the past, she had encountered cases where the employers, who had held on to their workers' passports, suddenly disappeared and could not be contacted. “The only thing I tell them is to make a police report and contact their embassy.”
Human rights lawyer and blogger Charles Hector suggests that a new policy could be adopted: if a migrant worker has been retrenched, and if he or she has worked less than three years in Malaysia, a new amended work permit could be given to allow the worker to be employed in another sector that needs workers.
“They may be non-citizens, but they are workers and human beings, and they need to be treated as such,” he wrote in his blog. “The government needs to develop just policies and principles."
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Monday, March 2, 2009
Haitians facing deportation look to Obama for help
http://www.southernstudies.org/2009/02/will-obama-help-haitian-immigrants.html
The United States is set to deport more than 30,000 Haitians to their impoverished homeland, Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials announced this week. A protest in response to the decision has been planned for Saturday, Feb. 21 in Broward County, Florida. Haitian activists and immigrants are calling for a halt to the arrests and a suspension of the deportations.
Deportation orders have been processed for 30,299 Haitians and they are starting to be implemented. Hundreds of Haitians have been put in camps awaiting the return home, while others have been put under a form of house arrest and are being monitored with electronic ankle bracelets, the AFP reported.
As the poorest nation in the western hemisphere, Haiti's troubles significantly increased with the passage of four deadly back-to-back storms last fall -- Fay, Gustav, Hanna and Ike -- that killed more than 800 persons and worsened the nation's food crisis. The storms devastated the small, impoverished island nation, washing away roads, bridges and crops. Thousands lost their homes. By some estimates, 80 percent of the country's population had been displaced by wide-ranging flood damage. A joint World Bank, United Nations and European Commission assessment released last November determined that total losses from the storms -- "the largest disaster for Haiti in more than 100 years" – could equal 15 percent of Haiti's gross national product.
Haitian President René Préval has urged the United States to grant Haitians nationals in the United States temporary protection status as victims of natural disasters, insisting Haiti is still struggling to recover from last year's devastating hurricanes and cannot handle the return of its citizens. Haitian officials even said they will not issue the travel documents needed to process the deportees. But ICE argues that Haiti's resistance will force people to languish longer in crowded detention centers.
The U.S. government did halt deportations to Haiti for three months last year, starting in September. After resuming flights in December, the administration of then President George W. Bush denied Haiti's request for "temporary protected status." Temporary protected status, or TPS, is a special state granted to immigrants of certain nationalities who are unable to return to their countries because of armed conflict, environmental disasters, or other extraordinary and temporary conditions, according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. The designation would have allowed Haitians living in the United States illegally to stay and work temporarily as their home country recovered from the devastating storm season.
Several Florida lawmakers criticized the Department of Homeland Security's decision to resume deportations last December. Haitian grassroots activists and immigration advocates have since renewed the call for TPS for Haitian nationals in the United States. Haitian advocates are upset that the new Obama White House seems to be maintaining the same policy of the past administrations -- one that advocates say represents a double-standard in dealing with Haitian immigrants.
Protected status has been granted and extended by the DHS to people from a handful of African and Central American countries because of natural disasters. For instance, Hondurans are still getting TPS from a natural disaster that occurred in 1999. In addition to Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Sudan have temporary protected status through 2010. Yet, Haiti has never been granted such a status. Over the years, the United States has become notorious for turning away Haitian "boat people" coming into South Florida seeking refuge and asylum from political upheaval and disaster.
The impact of U.S. and multinational policies continue to haunt the country. Over the years, due to harsh policies and pressure from the United States, World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, Haiti was forced to undergo strict structural adjustment policies that had a devastating impact on its local economy. Critics argue that international lending organizations helped worsen hunger in Haiti by pursuing free market policies that undermined domestic rice production and turned the country into a market for U.S. rice. This food crisis was further compounded by crippling sanctions, political destabilization, and environmental destruction.
Now Haitian advocates are wondering if the Obama era will bring in fair immigration reform or just more of the same.
The United States is set to deport more than 30,000 Haitians to their impoverished homeland, Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials announced this week. A protest in response to the decision has been planned for Saturday, Feb. 21 in Broward County, Florida. Haitian activists and immigrants are calling for a halt to the arrests and a suspension of the deportations.
Deportation orders have been processed for 30,299 Haitians and they are starting to be implemented. Hundreds of Haitians have been put in camps awaiting the return home, while others have been put under a form of house arrest and are being monitored with electronic ankle bracelets, the AFP reported.
As the poorest nation in the western hemisphere, Haiti's troubles significantly increased with the passage of four deadly back-to-back storms last fall -- Fay, Gustav, Hanna and Ike -- that killed more than 800 persons and worsened the nation's food crisis. The storms devastated the small, impoverished island nation, washing away roads, bridges and crops. Thousands lost their homes. By some estimates, 80 percent of the country's population had been displaced by wide-ranging flood damage. A joint World Bank, United Nations and European Commission assessment released last November determined that total losses from the storms -- "the largest disaster for Haiti in more than 100 years" – could equal 15 percent of Haiti's gross national product.
Haitian President René Préval has urged the United States to grant Haitians nationals in the United States temporary protection status as victims of natural disasters, insisting Haiti is still struggling to recover from last year's devastating hurricanes and cannot handle the return of its citizens. Haitian officials even said they will not issue the travel documents needed to process the deportees. But ICE argues that Haiti's resistance will force people to languish longer in crowded detention centers.
The U.S. government did halt deportations to Haiti for three months last year, starting in September. After resuming flights in December, the administration of then President George W. Bush denied Haiti's request for "temporary protected status." Temporary protected status, or TPS, is a special state granted to immigrants of certain nationalities who are unable to return to their countries because of armed conflict, environmental disasters, or other extraordinary and temporary conditions, according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. The designation would have allowed Haitians living in the United States illegally to stay and work temporarily as their home country recovered from the devastating storm season.
Several Florida lawmakers criticized the Department of Homeland Security's decision to resume deportations last December. Haitian grassroots activists and immigration advocates have since renewed the call for TPS for Haitian nationals in the United States. Haitian advocates are upset that the new Obama White House seems to be maintaining the same policy of the past administrations -- one that advocates say represents a double-standard in dealing with Haitian immigrants.
Protected status has been granted and extended by the DHS to people from a handful of African and Central American countries because of natural disasters. For instance, Hondurans are still getting TPS from a natural disaster that occurred in 1999. In addition to Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Sudan have temporary protected status through 2010. Yet, Haiti has never been granted such a status. Over the years, the United States has become notorious for turning away Haitian "boat people" coming into South Florida seeking refuge and asylum from political upheaval and disaster.
The impact of U.S. and multinational policies continue to haunt the country. Over the years, due to harsh policies and pressure from the United States, World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, Haiti was forced to undergo strict structural adjustment policies that had a devastating impact on its local economy. Critics argue that international lending organizations helped worsen hunger in Haiti by pursuing free market policies that undermined domestic rice production and turned the country into a market for U.S. rice. This food crisis was further compounded by crippling sanctions, political destabilization, and environmental destruction.
Now Haitian advocates are wondering if the Obama era will bring in fair immigration reform or just more of the same.
Haitians shocked at mass deportation order
By Suzan Clarke
The Journal News, Feb. 21, 2009
Haitian-Americans here and across the nation are outraged over a federal judge's decision to deport more than 30,000 undocumented Haitians, and have vowed to fight the order.
Joseph Desmaret, a Haitian-American and elected official in Spring Valley, which is home to a large number of Haitians, said immigration violations are no reason to target Haitians.
He said he had no problem with the deportation of violent criminals but noted that the majority of those under the order had not violated criminal law.
"I don't think it's fair for a country like Haiti, that is in the backyard of the United States, to (be treated) like this," he said, adding that Haiti was unable to accept the deportees because the country was devastated by several hurricanes last year.
Millions of undocumented immigrants from other countries who live in America were not targeted by deportation efforts, he said, adding that the United States' policy toward certain nations was inherently unfair.
"There are many other immigrants, like ... Cubans, they are welcomed to the United States. They have almost the same problems like the Haitians. They accept them, they help them out, and why not us?" he said.
This week, the federal government announced that 30,299 Haitians had been placed under final deportation orders by a federal judge. The news has been met with outrage, and protests have been staged in Miami.
The Haitian government is reportedly in talks with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in an attempt to find a solution.
Haiti's consul general in the New York area, Felix Augustin, yesterday said the Haitian government was hopeful that the talks would produce results. Even so, Haitians in Haiti as well as in the U.S. are worried.
"We had four hurricanes in the span of less than a month" last year, "and Haiti is recovering from all those disasters," Augustin said. "We don't have the safety net, the social safety net, to accept such a large number of people."
The United States deported 1,024 Haitians between January and Dec. 17 of last year, said Barbara Gonzalez, a spokeswoman for the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
As for the final orders of removal, they affect people whose cases may have been pending over time, and were not all ordered in one swoop, she said.
Of the 30,299, fewer than 600 were in ICE custody. The remaining prospective deportees were expected to comply with the deportation order and leave voluntarily.
Those who failed to comply would be considered fugitives. Gonzalez said the government had "fugitive alien teams" across the country whose sole purpose was to capture people who evaded deportation orders.
Gonzalez denied that Haitians were being treated more harshly than nationals of other countries.
"We enforce the law consistently across the board, regardless of a person's nationality," she said. "Our law enforcement officers have a duty and an obligation to enforce our nation's laws, and that's what they do every single day."
Haiti's government has said it cannot accept the returning citizens now, and has renewed a call for the U.S. to temporarily suspend deportations until the country is in better shape. Haitian authorities are reportedly declining to issue travel documents to the intended deportees.
The U.S. cannot return people to their country if they do not possess travel documents. In such cases, Gonzalez said, an immigrant in U.S. custody without travel documents would probably spend a longer time in detention.
Gonzalez could not immediately say how many of those Haitians under final deportation order were in New York state.
Desmaret, of Spring Valley, said Haitians across the diaspora were abuzz about the planned removals. He himself, along with Spring Valley Deputy Mayor Noramie Jasmin, who also is Haitian, have reached out Rep. Eliot Engel, D-Bronx, for help.
"We're determined to take steps to stop this. ... And if we have to march in Washington, we'll mobilize our resources, we'll go to Washington and march in Washington for justice for those people," Desmaret said.
Engel, speaking by telephone yesterday from Jamaica, agreed that the deportations to Haiti at this time were "ridiculous."
Haiti, the poorest nation in the Western hemisphere, is suffering even more because of the troubled world economy.
"If you deport somebody back to a country like Haiti, chances are overwhelming that that person will not be able to find employment, not be able to sustain himself or herself. ... I think that sometimes we need to have a little bit of a heart," he said.
Haiti's ambassador to the United States, Raymond Joseph, has been in talks with the Department of Homeland Security regarding the possibility of granting those Haitians special temporary protected status, according to Augustin.
TPS is a temporary immigration status granted by the United States to eligible nationals of certain countries who are unable to safely return to their home countries because of armed conflict, environmental disaster, or other extraordinary and temporary conditions.
Engel has sponsored legislation to extend TPS to Haitians. When he returns to the U.S., he said, he will meet with federal officials on the matter.
"I would just say that the temporary protected status has been granted to nationals of many countries ... because of earthquakes, hurricanes," he said. "I see no reason why Haitians should be treated any differently. I resent it."
El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Sudan and Sierra Leone are among the countries that have had TPS extended to their nationals.
The Journal News, Feb. 21, 2009
Haitian-Americans here and across the nation are outraged over a federal judge's decision to deport more than 30,000 undocumented Haitians, and have vowed to fight the order.
Joseph Desmaret, a Haitian-American and elected official in Spring Valley, which is home to a large number of Haitians, said immigration violations are no reason to target Haitians.
He said he had no problem with the deportation of violent criminals but noted that the majority of those under the order had not violated criminal law.
"I don't think it's fair for a country like Haiti, that is in the backyard of the United States, to (be treated) like this," he said, adding that Haiti was unable to accept the deportees because the country was devastated by several hurricanes last year.
Millions of undocumented immigrants from other countries who live in America were not targeted by deportation efforts, he said, adding that the United States' policy toward certain nations was inherently unfair.
"There are many other immigrants, like ... Cubans, they are welcomed to the United States. They have almost the same problems like the Haitians. They accept them, they help them out, and why not us?" he said.
This week, the federal government announced that 30,299 Haitians had been placed under final deportation orders by a federal judge. The news has been met with outrage, and protests have been staged in Miami.
The Haitian government is reportedly in talks with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in an attempt to find a solution.
Haiti's consul general in the New York area, Felix Augustin, yesterday said the Haitian government was hopeful that the talks would produce results. Even so, Haitians in Haiti as well as in the U.S. are worried.
"We had four hurricanes in the span of less than a month" last year, "and Haiti is recovering from all those disasters," Augustin said. "We don't have the safety net, the social safety net, to accept such a large number of people."
The United States deported 1,024 Haitians between January and Dec. 17 of last year, said Barbara Gonzalez, a spokeswoman for the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
As for the final orders of removal, they affect people whose cases may have been pending over time, and were not all ordered in one swoop, she said.
Of the 30,299, fewer than 600 were in ICE custody. The remaining prospective deportees were expected to comply with the deportation order and leave voluntarily.
Those who failed to comply would be considered fugitives. Gonzalez said the government had "fugitive alien teams" across the country whose sole purpose was to capture people who evaded deportation orders.
Gonzalez denied that Haitians were being treated more harshly than nationals of other countries.
"We enforce the law consistently across the board, regardless of a person's nationality," she said. "Our law enforcement officers have a duty and an obligation to enforce our nation's laws, and that's what they do every single day."
Haiti's government has said it cannot accept the returning citizens now, and has renewed a call for the U.S. to temporarily suspend deportations until the country is in better shape. Haitian authorities are reportedly declining to issue travel documents to the intended deportees.
The U.S. cannot return people to their country if they do not possess travel documents. In such cases, Gonzalez said, an immigrant in U.S. custody without travel documents would probably spend a longer time in detention.
Gonzalez could not immediately say how many of those Haitians under final deportation order were in New York state.
Desmaret, of Spring Valley, said Haitians across the diaspora were abuzz about the planned removals. He himself, along with Spring Valley Deputy Mayor Noramie Jasmin, who also is Haitian, have reached out Rep. Eliot Engel, D-Bronx, for help.
"We're determined to take steps to stop this. ... And if we have to march in Washington, we'll mobilize our resources, we'll go to Washington and march in Washington for justice for those people," Desmaret said.
Engel, speaking by telephone yesterday from Jamaica, agreed that the deportations to Haiti at this time were "ridiculous."
Haiti, the poorest nation in the Western hemisphere, is suffering even more because of the troubled world economy.
"If you deport somebody back to a country like Haiti, chances are overwhelming that that person will not be able to find employment, not be able to sustain himself or herself. ... I think that sometimes we need to have a little bit of a heart," he said.
Haiti's ambassador to the United States, Raymond Joseph, has been in talks with the Department of Homeland Security regarding the possibility of granting those Haitians special temporary protected status, according to Augustin.
TPS is a temporary immigration status granted by the United States to eligible nationals of certain countries who are unable to safely return to their home countries because of armed conflict, environmental disaster, or other extraordinary and temporary conditions.
Engel has sponsored legislation to extend TPS to Haitians. When he returns to the U.S., he said, he will meet with federal officials on the matter.
"I would just say that the temporary protected status has been granted to nationals of many countries ... because of earthquakes, hurricanes," he said. "I see no reason why Haitians should be treated any differently. I resent it."
El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Sudan and Sierra Leone are among the countries that have had TPS extended to their nationals.
Haiti, Venezuela pose early tests for Obama administration
By David Adams, Times Latin America Correspondent | February 21, 2009
The Obama administration is getting an early reality check on some of the sticky issues facing U.S. foreign policy in this hemisphere.
Take just two recent examples: Haiti and Venezuela.
Immigration advocates, some of whom worked for the Obama campaign, are dismayed by growing reports of Haitians being deported to the hurricane-wrecked island, despite ongoing legal appeals.
Meanwhile, Venezuelan opposition activists are equally appalled by the State Department's endorsement of Sunday's controversial referendum in which President Hugo Chávez won the right to unlimited re-election.
While Venezuela and Haiti are not considered priorities in U.S. foreign policy - at least not compared with Iraq, Afghanistan or Iran - they are likely to pose significant challenges for the State Department during the next four years. History has proven that American presidents ignore them at their peril.
In Haiti a new political crisis is looming over presidential elections due in 2010 that are likely to be hotly contested. The country is in even more severe economic distress than usual after four hurricanes last year killed 800 people, flooded the country's second-largest city, and destroyed roads, bridges and crops.
Meanwhile, Chávez has over the last decade turned Venezuela into an ideological crucible of anti-U.S. sentiment in Latin America. Venezuela still supplies more than 10 percent of U.S. daily petroleum needs, and is leading efforts at the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries to push prices higher.
The Bush administration halted deportations to Haiti between September and mid December. But they have since resumed, including four people on Jan. 23, only three days after Obama's inauguration. Thousands more are in detention and face similar fates.
Immigration advocates are appealing for another moratorium, arguing that the devastation from hurricane season has left the country in no condition to handle large numbers of returnees.
"All we are asking for is reinstating the halt to deportation orders," said Steve Forester, with the group Haitian Women of Miami.
As a humanitarian gesture, others say the United States should grant Haitians who are in this country illegally what is known as Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, effectively freezing action on their cases. Haiti's cash-strapped economy depends heavily on remittances from families abroad, which would be hurt if deportations continue, they say.
Some of those being deported are noncriminal Haitians who have often been
living here for more than a decade, and have young, U.S.-born children, as well as U.S. spouses, he said.
Forester cited the example of Louiness Petit-Frere, a Haitian man who was deported Jan. 23 after almost 10 years in this country. Petit-Frere is married to a U.S. citizen, his brother is an injured Iraq war veteran, and his mother is a permanent resident.
"He is calling his mother every day saying he has nothing to eat," said his attorney Candace Jean. "But he came (to Miami) on a boat and the law says you have to go back to your country for 10 years. It makes no sense."
Obama officials had another surprise this week after Chávez won Sunday's referendum allowing him to stand ad infinitum. State Department spokesman Gordon Duguid described the vote as "entirely consistent with the democratic process," despite overwhelming evidence of misuse of state resources.
From that assessment it might appear that the Obama administration "has opted to turn its back on democracy in Venezuela," said Pedro Burelli, a Chávez critic and former board member of Venezuela's state oil company.
Privately, some officials are saying that the spokesman misread his guidance notes. But no one has officially come forward to correct him.
"The fact is that the Obama administration hasn't yet focused on the Venezuela challenge and hasn't decided how it is going to deal with Chávez," said Michael Shifter, at the Washington-based Inter-American Dialogue. "The result is some carelessness and contradictory signals."
Ditto Haiti.
The Obama administration is getting an early reality check on some of the sticky issues facing U.S. foreign policy in this hemisphere.
Take just two recent examples: Haiti and Venezuela.
Immigration advocates, some of whom worked for the Obama campaign, are dismayed by growing reports of Haitians being deported to the hurricane-wrecked island, despite ongoing legal appeals.
Meanwhile, Venezuelan opposition activists are equally appalled by the State Department's endorsement of Sunday's controversial referendum in which President Hugo Chávez won the right to unlimited re-election.
While Venezuela and Haiti are not considered priorities in U.S. foreign policy - at least not compared with Iraq, Afghanistan or Iran - they are likely to pose significant challenges for the State Department during the next four years. History has proven that American presidents ignore them at their peril.
In Haiti a new political crisis is looming over presidential elections due in 2010 that are likely to be hotly contested. The country is in even more severe economic distress than usual after four hurricanes last year killed 800 people, flooded the country's second-largest city, and destroyed roads, bridges and crops.
Meanwhile, Chávez has over the last decade turned Venezuela into an ideological crucible of anti-U.S. sentiment in Latin America. Venezuela still supplies more than 10 percent of U.S. daily petroleum needs, and is leading efforts at the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries to push prices higher.
The Bush administration halted deportations to Haiti between September and mid December. But they have since resumed, including four people on Jan. 23, only three days after Obama's inauguration. Thousands more are in detention and face similar fates.
Immigration advocates are appealing for another moratorium, arguing that the devastation from hurricane season has left the country in no condition to handle large numbers of returnees.
"All we are asking for is reinstating the halt to deportation orders," said Steve Forester, with the group Haitian Women of Miami.
As a humanitarian gesture, others say the United States should grant Haitians who are in this country illegally what is known as Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, effectively freezing action on their cases. Haiti's cash-strapped economy depends heavily on remittances from families abroad, which would be hurt if deportations continue, they say.
Some of those being deported are noncriminal Haitians who have often been
living here for more than a decade, and have young, U.S.-born children, as well as U.S. spouses, he said.
Forester cited the example of Louiness Petit-Frere, a Haitian man who was deported Jan. 23 after almost 10 years in this country. Petit-Frere is married to a U.S. citizen, his brother is an injured Iraq war veteran, and his mother is a permanent resident.
"He is calling his mother every day saying he has nothing to eat," said his attorney Candace Jean. "But he came (to Miami) on a boat and the law says you have to go back to your country for 10 years. It makes no sense."
Obama officials had another surprise this week after Chávez won Sunday's referendum allowing him to stand ad infinitum. State Department spokesman Gordon Duguid described the vote as "entirely consistent with the democratic process," despite overwhelming evidence of misuse of state resources.
From that assessment it might appear that the Obama administration "has opted to turn its back on democracy in Venezuela," said Pedro Burelli, a Chávez critic and former board member of Venezuela's state oil company.
Privately, some officials are saying that the spokesman misread his guidance notes. But no one has officially come forward to correct him.
"The fact is that the Obama administration hasn't yet focused on the Venezuela challenge and hasn't decided how it is going to deal with Chávez," said Michael Shifter, at the Washington-based Inter-American Dialogue. "The result is some carelessness and contradictory signals."
Ditto Haiti.
Call to Action
Communities must fight back against FIRST WORKSITE raids of the Obama Administration in Washington state 2.24.09
Tell the Obama Administration: Stop the Raids, Pass Just and Humane Immigration Reform
- Raids hurt our communities, our economy and all workers and immigrants. Raids victimize the very people that helped to bring change to the White House and elect President Barack Obama.
- Yesterday, 28 workers, incuding 3 mothers, were chained and arrested in a factory in Bellingham, WA as part of ICE enforcement operations.
- In this time of economic hardship it is completely unacceptable for the Obama administration to be executing raids on our workers, businesses and communities- it is time for him to hear from us.
CALL the WHITE HOUSE NOW: 202-456-1414 to speak to the President
Tell President Barack Obama:
- The raid in Washington state is unacceptable, and hurts all of our communities.
- He must stop the raids NOW, and work to pass comprehensive immigration reform - NOW!.
or
FAX a letter to: 202-456-2461
Tell the Obama Administration: Stop the Raids, Pass Just and Humane Immigration Reform
- Raids hurt our communities, our economy and all workers and immigrants. Raids victimize the very people that helped to bring change to the White House and elect President Barack Obama.
- Yesterday, 28 workers, incuding 3 mothers, were chained and arrested in a factory in Bellingham, WA as part of ICE enforcement operations.
- In this time of economic hardship it is completely unacceptable for the Obama administration to be executing raids on our workers, businesses and communities- it is time for him to hear from us.
CALL the WHITE HOUSE NOW: 202-456-1414 to speak to the President
Tell President Barack Obama:
- The raid in Washington state is unacceptable, and hurts all of our communities.
- He must stop the raids NOW, and work to pass comprehensive immigration reform - NOW!.
or
FAX a letter to: 202-456-2461
Federal immigration agents raid Bellingham business
JOHN STARK AND ANNA WALTERS / THE BELLINGHAM HERALD
BELLINGHAM - After federal agents raided Yamato Engine Specialists Ltd. and detained 28 employees Tuesday, Feb. 24, company officials expressed dismay about how U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers handled the matter.
"They arrived in force," said Asiff Dhanani, a co-owner of the company at 2020 E. Bakerview Road. "They surrounded the whole perimeter."
Most of the workers detained were taken off in handcuffs, Dhanani said, except for three women who apparently were processed and released because they had children in local schools or daycare centers. The 28 made up about one-third of the engine remanufacturing company's production force.
"Some of these guys have been with us a long time," Dhanani said, adding that at least two of the workers detained Tuesday had been cleared by an earlier federal immigration audit that began in 2005 and was competed in 2006.
The arrested workers included 25 men - 22 Mexican nationals, one Salvadoran, one Guatemalan and one Honduran - and three women, all Mexican nationals, said ICE spokeswoman Lorie Dankers. She added that some of those arrested had phony documents, such as Social Security cards.
The 25 men were taken to the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma, and all will be entitled to a hearing before an immigration judge to determine if they have any legal grounds to remain in the U.S., Dankers said.
Shirin Dhanani Makalai, Yamato's administrative manager, said the company has done its best to comply with immigration law in its hiring practices. She provided a copy of a 2006 letter to her from ICE, over the signature of assistant special agent in charge Roy Hoffman, praising the company's compliance.
The letter says, in part: "Yamato Engine Specialist Ltd. is in full compliance with the record keeping requirements of the law and is making a good faith effort to insure (sic) that all new positions are filled by American citizens and by aliens authorized to work in the United States. You and Yamato Engine Specialist Ltd. may be proud of the contribution which your diligence and resolve are making to the success of this program. Your efforts are a genuine investment in the economic well-being of our nation."
Makalai said ICE removed several workers after the 2005-06 audit, but that enforcement action was carried out in a less disruptive way. Agents came to the plant, interviewed workers, and departed with those who were working illegally.
"They said they would work with us because they didn't want to cause us undue hardship," Makalai said of the earlier enforcement. "It was very dignified and humanely done. We just didn't expect this."
Dankers said there was nothing unusual about the Tuesday raid, which was authorized by search warrant after an investigation that began last spring.
"Individuals can dispute whether they think that is the appropriate tactic or not, but it is something we are allowed to do under the law," Dankers said.
Many of those detained admitted they were in the country illegally when questioned by federal officers Tuesday, Dankers added.
Makalai said the range of wages for Yamato's production workers begins at $9 and can be as high as $25 to $30 for the most skilled. She and Dhanani said the loss of the workers left them scrambling to fill orders.
"Because these are skilled jobs, there are only limited people that can do some of these jobs," Dhanani said. "You can't just get someone off the street and put someone in these positions."
Makalai said Yamato gets the federally required I-9 documentation from every worker at the time of hiring, but she and other employers have a difficult time making sure that workers' documents are legitimate.
"They forged them, they bought them, we don't know," Makalai said. "They (the federal agencies) do not have an information system. ... Then they come in and ambush you."
But Sharon Rummery, spokeswoman at the regional office of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services in San Francisco, said employers could check employees' documents with relative ease by using the federal E-Verify system. Any employer can enroll in the free system, which then provides a quick online verification system that, among other things, attempts to match names with Social Security numbers.
Makalai, Dhanani and other members of the family that launched Yamato are themselves immigrants who fled persecution in Uganda in the early 1970s.
"We know about paperwork and following the law," Makalai said. "We know about living in fear. ... It's not something we like to see other people experience."
BELLINGHAM - After federal agents raided Yamato Engine Specialists Ltd. and detained 28 employees Tuesday, Feb. 24, company officials expressed dismay about how U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers handled the matter.
"They arrived in force," said Asiff Dhanani, a co-owner of the company at 2020 E. Bakerview Road. "They surrounded the whole perimeter."
Most of the workers detained were taken off in handcuffs, Dhanani said, except for three women who apparently were processed and released because they had children in local schools or daycare centers. The 28 made up about one-third of the engine remanufacturing company's production force.
"Some of these guys have been with us a long time," Dhanani said, adding that at least two of the workers detained Tuesday had been cleared by an earlier federal immigration audit that began in 2005 and was competed in 2006.
The arrested workers included 25 men - 22 Mexican nationals, one Salvadoran, one Guatemalan and one Honduran - and three women, all Mexican nationals, said ICE spokeswoman Lorie Dankers. She added that some of those arrested had phony documents, such as Social Security cards.
The 25 men were taken to the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma, and all will be entitled to a hearing before an immigration judge to determine if they have any legal grounds to remain in the U.S., Dankers said.
Shirin Dhanani Makalai, Yamato's administrative manager, said the company has done its best to comply with immigration law in its hiring practices. She provided a copy of a 2006 letter to her from ICE, over the signature of assistant special agent in charge Roy Hoffman, praising the company's compliance.
The letter says, in part: "Yamato Engine Specialist Ltd. is in full compliance with the record keeping requirements of the law and is making a good faith effort to insure (sic) that all new positions are filled by American citizens and by aliens authorized to work in the United States. You and Yamato Engine Specialist Ltd. may be proud of the contribution which your diligence and resolve are making to the success of this program. Your efforts are a genuine investment in the economic well-being of our nation."
Makalai said ICE removed several workers after the 2005-06 audit, but that enforcement action was carried out in a less disruptive way. Agents came to the plant, interviewed workers, and departed with those who were working illegally.
"They said they would work with us because they didn't want to cause us undue hardship," Makalai said of the earlier enforcement. "It was very dignified and humanely done. We just didn't expect this."
Dankers said there was nothing unusual about the Tuesday raid, which was authorized by search warrant after an investigation that began last spring.
"Individuals can dispute whether they think that is the appropriate tactic or not, but it is something we are allowed to do under the law," Dankers said.
Many of those detained admitted they were in the country illegally when questioned by federal officers Tuesday, Dankers added.
Makalai said the range of wages for Yamato's production workers begins at $9 and can be as high as $25 to $30 for the most skilled. She and Dhanani said the loss of the workers left them scrambling to fill orders.
"Because these are skilled jobs, there are only limited people that can do some of these jobs," Dhanani said. "You can't just get someone off the street and put someone in these positions."
Makalai said Yamato gets the federally required I-9 documentation from every worker at the time of hiring, but she and other employers have a difficult time making sure that workers' documents are legitimate.
"They forged them, they bought them, we don't know," Makalai said. "They (the federal agencies) do not have an information system. ... Then they come in and ambush you."
But Sharon Rummery, spokeswoman at the regional office of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services in San Francisco, said employers could check employees' documents with relative ease by using the federal E-Verify system. Any employer can enroll in the free system, which then provides a quick online verification system that, among other things, attempts to match names with Social Security numbers.
Makalai, Dhanani and other members of the family that launched Yamato are themselves immigrants who fled persecution in Uganda in the early 1970s.
"We know about paperwork and following the law," Makalai said. "We know about living in fear. ... It's not something we like to see other people experience."
Immigration officials raid Bellingham plant
By Lornet Turnbull
Seattle Times staff reporter
Immigration officers today raided an engine remanufacturing plant in Bellingham, arrested 28 illegal immigrant workers and began processing them for deportation.
The arrests are part of an ongoing investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials at Yamato Engine Specialists in Bellingham.
ICE officials say the 25 men and three women — most of them from Mexico — may have gained employment at Yamato using phony social security numbers and other counterfeit identity documents.
Yamato officials, who said they had been cooperating with ICE since last fall when investigators began looking at employment documents, were shocked by today's raid.
In fact, three of the workers arrested today had been cleared as having legitimate documents during an employment records audit by ICE in 2005, said Yamato spokeswoman Shirin Dhanani Makalai.
We have been audited before so we do due diligence to get the proper paperwork," Makalai said. "People bring you paperwork that by law you are required to accept. You can't always tell if it's not correct."
With about 100 workers, Yamato specializes in rebuilding Japanese car engines and transmissions.
ICE investigators began looking into its employment records following the arrest of a criminal illegal immigrant who had previously worked there.
After being processed earlier today, officials released three of the immigrants on humanitarian grounds. The others are being held at the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma.
"The lure of jobs in the United States continues to be one of the primary factors fueling illegal immigration," said Leigh Winchell, special agent in charge of the ICE Office of Investigations in Seattle.
"ICE remains committed to investigating cases where the evidence shows employment laws are being violated."
Lornet Turnbull: 206-464-2420 or lturnbull@seattletimes.com
Seattle Times staff reporter
Immigration officers today raided an engine remanufacturing plant in Bellingham, arrested 28 illegal immigrant workers and began processing them for deportation.
The arrests are part of an ongoing investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials at Yamato Engine Specialists in Bellingham.
ICE officials say the 25 men and three women — most of them from Mexico — may have gained employment at Yamato using phony social security numbers and other counterfeit identity documents.
Yamato officials, who said they had been cooperating with ICE since last fall when investigators began looking at employment documents, were shocked by today's raid.
In fact, three of the workers arrested today had been cleared as having legitimate documents during an employment records audit by ICE in 2005, said Yamato spokeswoman Shirin Dhanani Makalai.
We have been audited before so we do due diligence to get the proper paperwork," Makalai said. "People bring you paperwork that by law you are required to accept. You can't always tell if it's not correct."
With about 100 workers, Yamato specializes in rebuilding Japanese car engines and transmissions.
ICE investigators began looking into its employment records following the arrest of a criminal illegal immigrant who had previously worked there.
After being processed earlier today, officials released three of the immigrants on humanitarian grounds. The others are being held at the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma.
"The lure of jobs in the United States continues to be one of the primary factors fueling illegal immigration," said Leigh Winchell, special agent in charge of the ICE Office of Investigations in Seattle.
"ICE remains committed to investigating cases where the evidence shows employment laws are being violated."
Lornet Turnbull: 206-464-2420 or lturnbull@seattletimes.com
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