Parkins wrote to President Bush to register "deep concern that the US Government has interdicted and returned  close to 1000 Haitians who have fled this country¹s turbulence."

"The US response should not be one of involuntarily returning these persons to an uncertain and possibly life threatening future," Parkins said. "To do so violates our tradition as a nation which honors the right of persons who might have valid refugee claims to have these claims fairly considered. The current practice of interdicting fleeing Haitian nationals contradicts international law and further compounds the view that our nation is unwilling to extend fair treatment to our Haitian neighbors in their quest for justice and safety."

'Dangerous example'

"One of the most tragic consequences of the escalating violence in Haiti has been the flight of persons seeking safety from the intolerable mayhem which surrounds them," Parkins wrote in a statement released March 9. "With the departure of President [Jean-Bertrand] Aristide, several hundred Haitians have fled Haiti's violence, only to be intercepted by U.S. vessels and returned to the violence from which they fled. Considering that the U.S. Government has already called for all of its personnel to leave Haiti because of widespread insecurity, clear evidence already exists that Haiti is not a safe place. Would it not be expected, therefore, that threatened Haitian nationals would take flight?"

The statement said that EMM "strongly opposes" such treatment, particularly since the refugees are not given an opportunity to press their claims for asylum. The policy "sets a dangerous example for other countries to follow," Parkins said, and violates the UN's refugee convention of 1951, which protects the rights of those fleeing persecution. The U.S. is a signatory to the convention.

'Stain of injustice'

"Tragically, the United States has been discriminatory in its treatment of Haitian asylum aspirants. To continue to treat these persons unfairly deepens the stain of injustice that already blots our record of protecting our Haitian neighbors," Parkins continued.

"EMM calls on the U.S. Government to recognize the refugee crisis in Haiti and to immediately implement steps to expeditiously, fairly, and humanely respond to this crisis. Elements of this strategy would include unfettered access to the asylum process, special treatment of especially vulnerable refugees, and a cessation of measures which compel persecuted Haitians to face further persecution and suffering by prematurely and forcibly sending them home," the statement concluded.

History of interdiction

Interdiction by the U.S. Coast Guard of undocumented migrants goes back to 1794, but the country's first mass migration emergency was the so-called Mariel Boatlift, which lasted from April 21 to September 28, 1980. When Cuban president Fidel Castro permitted any person who wanted to leave Cuba <http://www.state.gov/p/wha/ci/index.cfm?id=2461> free access to depart from the port of Mariel, approximately 124,000 Cubans departed on a flotilla of mostly U.S. vessels in violation of U.S. law. On September 29, 1981, President Ronald Reagan suspended the entry of undocumented migrants to the U.S. from the high seas.

Between 1991 and 1995, there was a dramatic increase in the number of Haitian migrants interdicted by the Coast Guard following an attempted coup in Haiti <http://www.state.gov/p/wha/ci/index.cfm?id=2872> in 1991. In 1992, President George H.W. Bush directed the Coast Guard to interdict them at sea, and return them to Haiti. The U.S. Supreme Court upheld a challenge to the policy made on the basis of the 1951 refugee convention.

For six months, starting in July 1994, President Bill Clinton declared the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo, Cuba, a "safe haven" where all fleeing Haitians would be held temporarily following a military coup which removed Aristide from power.  But after U.S. forces restored Aristide, the Haitians were sent back with no screening of possible refugee claims.