Larry Rohter, whose attempt to discredit our documentary “South of the Border” took up most of the front page of the New York Times Arts section last Saturday, is not backing down. We responded by showing that every one of his alleged “questions of accura

The following is from guest contributor Steven Forester who coordinates immigration policy advocacy for the Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti (IJDH).

July 12 will be six months since the quake. Last Saturday a Washington Post editorial again, as on January 29, urged the Obama Administration to promptly parole 55,000 beneficiaries of visa petitions DHS has already approved -- but who otherwise will languish years longer in Haiti due to the visa backlog -- citing as precedent DHS's creation in 2007 of a Cuban Family Reunification Parole Program.  A favorable Post blog followed on Wednesday.
 
Creating a Haitian Family Reunification Parole Program would serve the same goals as the Cuban program and give Haiti's recovery a huge blood transfusion via their consequent remittances to an estimated 550,000 or more Haitians.  You can support this goal.
 
HIAS has created a laminated poster that asks people to urge DHS (202 282 8495) and Congress (202 224 3121) to reunite these 55,000 separated Haitian families.  To get a free poster, email [email protected] with your name and address, and post them widely.

July 2, 2010 (Jobs Byte)

The AP reported late last night that President Preval had rejected many of the recommendations outlined in Senator Lugar's report for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee which we wrote about yesterday. While Preval did formally set a date for elections, a key recommendation of the report, he refused to work with international partners to reform the Provisional Electoral Council (CEP) or to do more to ensure a fully inclusive electoral process. The Miami Herald and Reuters also have the story. As we wrote yesterday, and a number of times previously, Haiti's largest party, Fanmi Lavalas was excluded from 2009 elections and also from the planned February elections. Preval, however, defended the action, the AP writes:

He also defended the prohibition on the exiled Aristide's Fanmi Lavalas party in last year's elections, a ban that came after rival factions of the party submitted competing lists of candidates.

"International donors need to look for an accord with the CEP and the political parties and the factions of Fanmi Lavalas," Preval said. "We are giving (the parties) the support that they need, and the factions need to figure it out (for themselves)."

July 2010, David Rosnick

Mark WeisbrotThe Guardian Unlimited, June 30, 2010