A dear, caring friend of mine has been kindly forwarding letters from Amnesty International to me. As such, I've been writing responses back to her about them; and following the issues they raise wherever they lead, and publishing the results here. So this may become a regular series. Let me know if you like these or hate these. Thanks much!

The Letter

The Honorable George W. Bush
The President of the United States
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington DC 20500

Please direct the U.S. Coast Guard and the Department of Homeland Security to suspend all forcible returns of Haitians unless or until their entitlement to protection has been determined through a full and fair procedure and their return can take place in safety, dignity, and with full respect for their human rights.

My Response

Dear Friend,

I said I would do my best to seriously consider many of the things you forwarded to me. Today I'm going to address this one, whch involves Haitian refugees.

When William Jefferson Clinton ran for office in 1992, he ran on a campaign promise that he would accept Haitian refugees who made it to the US by boat, and excoriated incumbent George HW Bush for turning them back, much as your letter below does regarding the current president.

Shortly after taking office, President Clinton broke his campaign promise and started sending the Haitian refugees back. In response to the policy change, hordes of Haitiians had left, en masse, attempting to get to the US by boat. And in doing so, many of them were dying, drowning, being exploited by those who promised to transport them, attacked by pirates and even, sadly, eaten by sharks. Clinton broke his promise, reversed his position, and instituted even stronger penalties than his predecessor had. (More)

Clinton's supporters undoubtedly argued he was being compassionate by doing so. His critics undoubtedly pointed out that he had learned, at the cost of Haitiian lives, something conservatives had already understood, and pointed out during the previous campaign.

(Do remember writing a similar letter to President Clinton about this issue? Or is this only an issue for Republican presidents?)

So, in short: Encouraging such a policy actually kills Haitians.

Next, the letter clearly uses deception to persuade the reader. Deception is where you state true things in order to create a dishonest impression. In this case it says a treaty "prohibits the return of a person in any manner whatsoever to a place where his or her life or freedom would be threatened", but it dishonestly imples that Haiti, a poor, troubled, but nontheless democratic nation is such a place. Poverty has never been a criteria for such, and they undoubtedly know that, exploiting the compassion, but probably also ignorance, of their readers.

(Indeed, if being poor was identical to having one's life threatened, then America, and every other first-world nation, should immediately allow nearly every poor person in the world in, with no checks whatsoever. And that is where the logic of the letter takes us.)

Also, the letter attempts to pretend that because Bush used the word "refugee", that he meant it in a precise legal sense which admitted their lives were in immediate danger for living in Haiti.

How are we supposed to be acting in the cause of truth by using such word-twisting and deception?

So, in conclusion, I'd be grateful if President Bush, or any other President, would ignore such harmful suggestions. Following them would be cruel to Haitians, cost many Haitian lives, be unfair to legal US immigrants who worked very hard to enter our country under the letter of the law, and, if the logic of the letter were followed consistently, would result in the complete dissolution of all immigration controls, making our current welfare state literally impossible.

Instead, I hope concerned people will consider trying to make Haiti a better place to live, and helping those who are there, rather than encouraging everyone to leave and risk their lives. In particular, I hope people join me in opposing US and EU rice and sugar subsidies which are one root cause of poverty in Haiti, making it impossible for poor Haitiian farmers to compete, and make a living growing these crops. A one-time handout is good, sometimes, but giving people a life by improving their homeland is much better.