Policy, Cultural Politics, and Immigrant Eligibility

Immigration has always been an issue in the United States and, since the 1990s, has attracted more attention because ofrevised immigration laws and procedures. Of particular interest is the impact of revised immigration laws on Haitian immigrants to the United States. While 9/11 is generally regarded as a milestone for increased security at our borders, previously enacted immigration laws, the 1991 Haitian coup, and key U.S. court cases present more relevance to Haitian immigration today than do many post-9/11 laws, which focus on terrorism and enemy combatants. 1 For this reason, the present article will examine the legal concepts of asylum seekers, refugees, and immigrants as applied to Haitians who have sought entrance to the United States since the 1991 coup. The theoretical framework for this research is based on the premise that political forces and policy rather than adherence to (a) strict due process or (b) international law and custom strongly influence legal interpretation pertaining to Haitian immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers