Political Quotes

“I am compelled to express my serious reservations with regard to President Clinton's decision to change the procedures for processing Haitian refugees. I have supported the existing policy of intercepting at sea and returning would-be immigrants from Haiti, while encouraging true refugees to use the United States processing centers set up there. This process is a continuation of a policy implemented by President Bush in May 1992, when the flow of Haitians reached crisis proportions. I still think that this course is the proper one, and I worry that any change, however minor, will precipitate another crisis. President Clinton, even before his inauguration, made the very difficult decision to continue the repatriation of Haitians interdicted at sea. Although he had earlier criticized the policy, it became clear that a policy reversal would be interpreted as an invitation for Haitians to come to the United States and could trigger a massive exodus. In late 1992, estimates of the number of Haitians preparing to take to the seas ranged as high as 500,000. Most of these immigrants were about to set out in tiny, barely seaworthy craft with little hope of making it to the coast of Florida. President-elect Clinton did the right thing then and avoided a humanitarian disaster.”