Haiti and Cuba: U.$. immigration double standard

by MC17

While politicians are fighting over whether one young Cuban boy, 
Elian Gonzalez, will stay in the u.s. or return to his father in 
Cuba, Haitians spent the month of January attempting to draw 
attention to the double standard in u.s. immigration policy. This 
policy says that Cubans who make it to u.s. land can stay in the 
united states and they are only turned back if they are stopped 
before reaching land. On the other hand, Amerika does not allow 
Haitians to legally stay in the u.s. even if they reach land 
unless they can prove a "credible fear" of persecution in Haiti.

Recently two young Haitian children were among the 400 sent back 
to Haiti after their boat reached u.s. land while their pregnant 
mother was taken ashore for medical treatment. After much public 
protest by the Haitian community, which pointed out that 
politicians pretend to care so much about the fate of a Cuban boy 
but willfully ignored the plight of these Haitian children, the 
government backtracked and said the children would be allowed to 
stay with their mother while her case for political asylum is 
processed.(1)

The double standard immigration policy which makes it 
significantly easier for Cubans to immigrate to the u.s. is a 
blatant political attack on Cuba, a country the u.s. has 
considered an enemy ever since Castro led a revolution to kick out 
the u.s. imperialists. It makes Cuba look bad to have its people 
fleeing to the u.s. in search of "freedom." And the conservative 
Cubans in the u.s. provide strong backing for the u.s. government 
in its attempts to return Cuba to u.s. imperialist control.

Haiti, where the u.s. has a firm control over the government and 
the economy, along with all of the other colonies and neo-colonies 
of u.s. imperialism, needs to retain large pools of cheap labor 
for the multinational corporations to exploit. Too many of these 
workers escaping to the u.s. could destabilize the economy. And 
large numbers of people fleeing a country out of fear for their 
lives does not help the u.s. image when the u.s. militarily 
intervened in these countries to establish and support the 
governments.

Many of the Haitians fleeing their country are leaving because the 
economic conditions are intolerable. These conditions were created 
by a long history of u.s. imperialist control of the country.

Amerika occupied and ruled Haiti from 1915 to 1934, then backed a 
series of dictators, including the father and son Duvaliers, until 
1990, when Aristide won a presidential election on a platform that 
appealed to the majority (the poor) people in Haiti. Aristide was 
overthrown in a military coup in 1991. There is strong proof 
suggesting that the u.s. backed this coup. After the coup the u.s. 
invaded Haiti under the pretence of "restoring democracy' and u.s. 
troops remained in the country, "supervising" the operation of the 
government.

As a part of the u.s. "help" to Haiti, much food aid has been 
sent. Amerikan aid to Haiti is increasing hunger, interfering with 
the country's food production and creating a dependence on u.s. 
food imports.(2) The U$ programs force Haiti's agrarian economy to 
shift to production for export and export-based assembly work. 
Haitian markets are being flooded with cheap foreign food, a 
strategy used by imperialist countries around the world to 
undercut locally grown products and force a change in the 
agricultural economy away from self-sufficiency under the guise of 
"aid".

The imperialist borders exist to keep out the working people who 
create the wealth housed within those borders. The imperialists 
and their labor aristocracy supporters fear open borders because 
these borders are an essential part of controlling their colonies 
and neo-colonies and maintaining their wealth. The only 
justification for keeping the u.s. borders closed is national 
chauvinism. As revolutionary internationalists we call on 
activists everywhere to join us in our fight for revolution and to 
tear down the illegitimate imperialist borders.

Notes:

1. New York Times, Jan 15, 2000

2. Grassroots International, "Feeding Dependency, Starving 
Democracy: USAID Policies in Haiti", February 1997.

For MIM's analysis of Cuba, arguing that it is not a socialist 
state, send $5 for MIM Theory #4 to the address on page 2.