Obama to allow Haitians in U.S. illegally to remain because of quake

[sabra]

Source: CBS News

BREAKING NEWS> Obama to allow Haitians in U.S. illegally to remain because of quake

Read more: http://www.cbsnews.com/

[Little Star]

1. I'm glad to hear it. k&r for good news. n/t

[Solly Mack]

2. K&R

[timeforpeace]

3. Scoring points by doing nothing. Shrewd.

[me b zola]

43. What you call "nothing" means a hell of a lot to many of the people affected

Idiotic.

[GirlAfire]

49. +1

Wow.

[buff2]

53. Yeah...saving more lives doesn't amount to a damn thing

does it? :sarcasm: :wtf:

[fascisthunter]

4. send them all on over to Rush's Estate

I'm sure he has enough money, land, water and food. Hell, he has plenty of medicine too from what I have read.

[Jamastiene]

52. Rush Limbaugh's medicine cabinet is probably worth tens of thousands

in street value. Anybody who got into that would feel no pain for quite a while.

[JuniperLea]

5. This is great news!

Days ago I allowed myself to think this would be a good thing to do, then abandoned the thought thinking it was futile, that it would never happen!

I'm so happy to hear this!

So, ok... I'm going to move forward with my next thought... make Haiti part of the US. We've been screwing with their politics anyway, may as well do it above board.

[Bette Noir]

13. Uh... annexing Haiti is not the direction we want to go.

[JuniperLea]

17. Well, gosh...

Thanks for the non-inspiring, uninformative, and generally devoid of any reason opinion.

[gcomeau]

19. Some advice...

Criticising someone for their "un-informative and generally devoid of any reason opinion" response to YOUR un-informative and generally devoid of any reason opinion is probably not the best approach you could take.

Unless you made any real argument in favor of annexation that I somehow overlooked. And no, past "messing with their politics" is not in any way a justification for annexing another sovereign state or anything remotely resembling one.

[treestar]

56. Letting illegals stay legally is not annexing anyplace

And there is no way to deport them right now anyway. It's physically impossible.

[gcomeau]

57. Try reading the exchange before replying to the end of it.

The person I am speaking to suggested making Haiti part of the U.S... want to give me another word for doing that besides annexation?

[emilyg]

41. Gosh - bet you felt proud of

yourself. Drivel.

[havocmom]

6. Quick, get a camera and mic on Lou Dobbs

This could be the item that makes his head explode.

[ChicagoSuz219]

9. HaHaHa... I was going to post something similar... ;-) n/t

[Mike Nelson]

37. LOL (somebody check his pulse!)

seriously

[Proud Liberal Dem]

48. along with the anti-immigrant wingnut crowd

:nuke:

[Jamastiene]

51. ...

:spray:

I love it! :rofl:

[Robb]

7. LINK: Haitians already in US granted asylum

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iMl9abPj-fnvmjSXm-65mr2J75cQ

WASHINGTON — The US government on Friday said it had granted temporary asylum to Haitians already in the United States before this week's devastating earthquake.
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said Haitians would be granted Temporary Protected Status.
"This designation will allow eligible Haitian nationals in the United States to continue living and working in our country for the next 18 months," she said.
"Providing a temporary refuge for Haitian nationals... whose personal safety would be endangered by returning to Haiti is part of this Administration's continuing efforts to support Haiti's recovery," she said....

[VanW]

8. That's a good thing

And the truth is, the US probably could not take Haitians back to Haiti even if they wanted to. There's no infrastructure.

[alsame]

10. Good. nt

[BunkerHill24]

11. Granting them temporary asylum is useless and doesn't solve

the underlying problem. Some of these Haitians have been in a limbo waiting some sort of refugee stratus for years. We have double standard immigration policy for Haitians in this country and it is utter racism...and must be addressed accordingly.

[Bette Noir]

14. It might not solve the underlying problem, but it avoids making it worse.

[BunkerHill24]

16. No, this solves nothing

Thousands of these Haitians are currently held in immigration facility centers and will not be able to leave. This temporary asylum status would only prolong their agony and uncertainty.

[SeattleGirl]

21. Okay, then, let's send 'em back to Haiti right now!

That'll make EVERYTHING better.

:sarcasm:

[BunkerHill24]

24. What difference would it make if you are held on immigration facility for months on end?

Why do i think your sarcasm is rather what you have in mind?

[liberation]

25. I don't think people are interested in facts...

... they just want to feel better about themselves.


If indeed the moratorium does not affect those held in limbo for moths, this does not do much. However, it may have a positive effect for those who are not caught in said legal limbo. I know is not a real solution, but hopefully it doesn't hurt either.

[SeattleGirl]

28. Please do not speak for me or assume things about me.

I am a great fan of facts.

This may not be the absolute best thing, but what else should Obama do? Round up the rest of them and put THEM into detention centers?

[BunkerHill24]

29. I concur

But you have to understand that the said "temporary legal status" is temporary and as such its renewable every three months. Of course I welcome this, but it's temporary and will not address the larger issue.

[SeattleGirl]

26. No sarcasm intended whatsoever.

[Bluenorthwest]

30. If they have asylum, they will not be held in detention

They will be allowed to leave, as they now have a legal status, right? They are detained because they do not have status, and now they do. Why would they continue to be detained for lacking the right to be here, if they have been granted that right?
Is this just a thing you are assuming?

[BunkerHill24]

31. They have stay on deportation..not legal status to leave the detention center

I'm referring to those held in immigration facilities and given deportation order.

[coffeenap]

12. Looky, Mom--we have a HUMAN for a president!!

:-)

[Bette Noir]

15. Isn't it a nice change?

[Bluenorthwest]

18. Excellent, quick and thoughtful action

[Name removed]

20. Deleted sub-thread

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[tekisui]

22. knr! Thank you President Obama. Now, let's get refugee status for

those who desire to come here.

[blondeatlast]

23. Great news. I fully, unapologetically support this humane action. nt

[jonathon]

27. Seconded!

[npk]

32. My only concern is how will our economy support them

I understand that Haiti is on the brink and that the devastation may be so vast in some areas that the thought of rebuilding may be impossible. However, there is no doubt that a large influx in Haitian population on our economy is also not a good thing. There are millions of Americans out of work, and in some cases out of their homes. Some are close to starving, while others are dying from no health care and shelters that are already at capacity. How will this influx of Haitians, who will at some point need work, affect a US economy, that while is getting better, is still very fragile.

I believe that this influx from Haiti may not be temporary, and may in fact be permanent in some cases. I look at the pictures and reports from Haiti and see large areas of the country that may never be economically sound regions ever again.

[LanternWaste]

33. People in Houston thought the same thing

People in Houston thought the same thing after the influx of people from Louisiana due to Katrina...

[npk]

34. But was our economy that bad then as it is now

I do not know. I also believe this influx from Haiti could be very large. Maybe not as large as Katrina misplaced, but if more and more areas of Haiti become unsustainable it could mean many more people that may have no choice to migrate to the US.

[LanternWaste]

38. I do not think so...

"But was our economy that bad then as it is now?"

I do not think so-- as the housing bubble had not hit yet. But I imagine that a triage approach is more than appropriate in this case-- save the lives would be the priority I'd think, with putting people into a livable sustainable community being next. Then we can sort out the politics and the economics-- those things which exist nowhere but our own imaginations...

If it indirectly means that I do not take a vacation this year, or purchase an I-Pod, or one of a million other non-necessities that fill up my life, so be it. I'll happily and willfully take the hit, if for no other reason than it's the right thing for me to do. Other people's mileage may vary of course...

[DemoTex]

35. WTF npk?

So our cush life (and it is super-cush, even in bad times) is attenuated. So what? We have enough to help these people. I'd be ashamed to voice an opinion otherwise.

[npk]

40. Not saying we shouldn't help. I agree with the presidents decision

My only concern is that Haiti may be unsustainable for a very long time. Not just temporary relief will be required, but more long term. We, as a country, are having a hard time just keeping our heads above water. Many more American's want to donate to Haiti, but are simply not in a position to do so. I am not trying to seem uncaring or unsympathetic to what is going on in Haiti. My only concern is that many of these people fleeing Haiti may find that there is limited help and gainful employment to be had here. It may be difficult for our economy to handle such a sudden hardship. Either way the Haitians are in a difficult position. They may find relief in the US not as forthcoming as it may have been 10 or even 8 years ago. But this does not change the fact that these people need and deserve as much as help as we or any other country can give them.

[AlphaCentauri]

45. The 12 millions of illegals including the ones from Haiti

won't subtract resources from the economy, they were here 8 or 10 years ago supporting the economy with their hard work, they are an asset of the economy.

[Unvanguard]

42. There is no "influx." It's just the ones already here, something like 10,000.

It will have a negligible effect on the economy.

[treestar]

54. The U.S. is in no way anywhere near as bad a shape as Haiti

I can't believe this shit. This is so cold. After what these people have been through, a recession in the richest country in the world doesn't compare. We can't just leave people there to starve because we are relatively speaking, slightly uncomfortable.

[Suji to Seoul]

36. But. . .but. . .but. . .they are black. . .and poor. . .and speak some strange not-American language

We only want rich, English speaking white refugees. :SARCASM:

Can't you just hear the spinning and heads exploding from the troglodytes on the other side over this? Let's see them mask their latent racism in some very bad spin. . .go ahead, Rush; polish that turd!

I am very proud of my president right now. In the face of something like Katrina and the Asian tsunami, an American person shows himself to be (gasp) human with an actual beating heart.

I have lambasted this president on a number of thinks (war, HCR, DADT), but I support him completely on this!!!

Proud of President Obama for this!!!

[treestar]

55. +1000

And I am proud of us, for reaching out a helping hand as a country even though we have a recession. I can't get my head around suggestions we shouldn't help earthquake victims who have nothing because we don't have a rip roaring economy in a first world nation, still the richest on earth.

[Warren DeMontague]

39. It's gonna be like the front row at a Gallagher show, with all the RW heads exploding.

Seriously, though. Good move. The right thing to do. :thumbsup:

[me b zola]

44. K&R

[alp227]

46. Here's a link

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/01/15/politics/main6102068.shtml?tag=stack

That's the right thing to do. If I were president I'd never ever deport anyone to a country that's recently been messed up by disaster.

Now, I wonder about US policy towards refugees from other countries that either lack human rights (Communist, Islamic) or are in poverty.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

47. Good for him (and the Haitians)

The headline seems a bit.....oh I don't know....negatively slanted though. :eyes:

[Jamastiene]

50. K&R

Good.