Helping Haitian Children
- Sunday, May 10, 2009 |
- Written by Ariana Zuno
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Even prior to the January 12 earthquake that devastated Haiti, KIND had identified Haitian children as a group in need of a helping hand. The earthquake brought this need to a new level, and KIND ever since has been advocating to ensure that the lives of Haitian children are restored to normalcy and stability.
After the earthquake, KIND joined colleague organizations to advocate for temporary protected status (TPS) for Haitians in the United States. The U.S. granted TPS a short time later, and KIND participated in selected trainings to help Haitians understand and enroll in the TPS process.
While the U.S. government granted humanitarian parole to Haitian children in the orphan pipeline and to children with serious medical needs, KIND also advocated that this parole be granted to the children's caretakers so they could remain with the child. In addition, KIND urged humanitarian parole for mixed status families-families in which some members can stay in the U.S. legally, while others can't-to avoid separating families and their children, who have already suffered the trauma of a natural disaster and the chaos that resulted. While these measures have not yet been approved, KIND continues to advocate for these and other changes in legislation and policy to help protect Haitian children in the U.S.
KIND is also working to help the many Haitians in Miami through the Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center (FIAC), a highly-regarded NGO that has worked with the Haitian community for years. KIND will coordinate with interested firms, pro bono attorneys and paralegals to help FIAC with its large caseload of TPS clients, and to screen Haitian children for any other forms of immigration relief for which they may be eligible. The deadline for applying for TPS is in July 2010; it is thought that there will be a rush of applicants in June and July.
KIND is also working with Haitian child clients who have come to us for assistance, including three young siblings who were sent to the U.S. alone by their parents to escape the humanitarian crisis in Haiti; a boy who was abandoned by his parents in Haiti; and the children of a mixed status family.
