Tell Obama to Fast-Track Visas for Haitian Refugees

Yesterday, we wrote about how the White House has so far refused to allow newly orphaned Haitian children to come to the United States, or earthquake survivors with U.S. relatives to be reunited with families here.

But the administration is reevaluating that policy, so now's the best time to let your voice be heard on the issue. "We are certainly looking at that and will have more to say later," says Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

So far, the Obama administration has granted humanitarian parole to Haitian orphans whose adoption processes had already begun in the U.S. prior to the quake. It's also agreed to stop deporting Haitians who were already in the U.S., for at least 18 months.

Both are key steps and victories, but there are thousands of additional cases in need of attention.

Take, for example, Dieula Celestin, who lives in Miami, and keeps getting frantic phone calls from her younger brother, Roger Paul, who's stranded in Port-au-Prince with their 65-year-old mother, with no food, job, or money to be had. Or the case of New Jersey's Joseph Julceus, whose two children are still separated from him in Haiti, even though Julceus filed for their visas two years ago.

Then there are the cases of critically injured children in need of emergency medical care unavailable in Haiti. So far, the Department of Homeland Security has given permission for only 200 such children to fly to the U.S. to receive care. (One Florida neurosurgeon reports that the U.S. embassy has denied permission for three critically burned children to be flown to a Miami burn unit for treatment.)

The quake was a disaster that couldn't be prevented, but with its immigration policy, the Obama administration has the chance to intercede against more needless suffering. Tell the White House to fast-track review of visa applications from critically injured and newly orphaned children, as well as Haitians seeking to rejoin their families in the U.S., now.

Photo Credit: IFRC