Military

Mr. Chairman, members of the subcommittee, I appreciate this opportunity to discuss recent developments in Haiti as they pertain to migration and refugee affairs.

I am thankful, first, that the number of Haitians taking to the sea in overcrowded, unseaworthy vessels was not of the order of those who departed during previous migrations. Had there been a mass migration by sea, we would almost certainly have seen people drowned or otherwise lost at sea. We continue to encourage Haitians not to take to sea.

During the course of the last week, the U. S. Coast Guard rescued some 900 migrants at sea. Once aboard cutters they were given medical attention and food, and cared for while awaiting repatriation in coordination with the Haitian Coast Guard.

If at any time during the course of interdiction and repatriation efforts a migrant in any way expresses or indicates a fear or concern regarding return to Haiti, that migrant is interviewed by a trained Department of Homeland Security protection officer to determine whether the migrant requires protection against repatriation. During last week's repatriations, migrants who expressed a fear of return were promptly transferred to a separate vessel for protection screening.

Among those interdicted, only several expressed fear of returning home. They were promptly transferred to a separate vessel. They were not immediately returned to Haiti with the other migrants. After thorough screening, these migrants were found not to have a credible fear of persecution, and were repatriated.

The U. S. Coast Guard effected these repatriations with superb assistance from the Haitian Coast Guard and from U.S. Embassy staff in Port-Au-Prince who were on scene for as much of the repatriation process as possible. My own bureau, the Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration, is now making emergency funds available to the Embassy to cover food, transportation and similar expenses to assist repatriated migrants return to their homes.

We are working closely with the Department of Homeland Security, including the U.S. Coast Guard, and the Department of Defense in this endeavor, as we have worked closely together throughout the recent events in Haiti.

In addition to these efforts, we contacted the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) well before the onset of the crisis to discuss, among other issues, what could be done to assist Caribbean countries like Jamaica, the Dominican Republic and the Bahamas in the event of a large outflow from Haiti.

With our full support, UNHCR dispatched a team of specialists to the Caribbean to draw up a comprehensive regional response to any crisis that might emerge. They have provided guidance to Caribbean governments throughout the crisis. Consideration of an international appeal for assistance is now on hold pending new developments.

Our goal in this endeavor has been to mobilize the international community through UNHCR to ensure that the United States -- and the United States taxpayer - do not bear sole responsibility for responding to the crisis, and that we can count on our international partners to shoulder responsibility as well.

Application of international burden sharing to rebuilding Haiti will also minimize motivations in the future for Haitians to attempt to flee their homeland.