Establishing a Haitian Family Reunification Program

WHEREAS, the NAACP is deeply concerned about the precarious status of many Haitian children, elders and families, as they wait in Haiti to be reunited with their loved ones here in the United States, and for so many, the conditions in Haiti since the devastating earthquake of 2010 continue to remain unstable and even dangerous; and

WHEREAS, currently 112,000 Haitians are beneficiaries of family-based Visa Petitions, which U.S. citizens or legal permanent resident family members in the United States have filed, and which the Department of Homeland Security has already approved, all are "legal" and will eventually be joining their families here. However, they remain on a "Wait List" of nearly three to eleven years in Haiti, where many may not survive given conditions there; and

WHEREAS, establishing a Haitian Family Reunification Parole Program (HFRPP), modeled after the Cuban Family Reunification Parole Program, would alleviate this crisis by simply allowing Haitians already approved for Visas to wait in the United States with their families rather than in Haiti.

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the NAACP will contact the appropriate authorities and urge the immediate implementation of actions to remedy this situation by establishing a Haitian Family Reunification Program and issue an Action Alert to garner support from NAACP units and members.