By William J. Dorcena

Take a long look at the vessel pictured on this page. What you see is the voyage of your parents, great grandparents, and many, many generations before them.

Some people traveled by air and by land, but they all had to come from somewhere. Everyone in the United States, with the possible exception of Native Americans, made a similar voyage at some point in history.

Immigrants and refugees are what make this country so strong and so different from anywhere else on Earth. However, today's new realities have many concerned for our safety in the U.S. The terrorist attacks on 9/11 showed us that our ideals are hated and loathed by our enemies. As a result of this fear, we are unfortunately turning against immigrants.

Immigrants have always been easy targets. When the Irish first came to this country, they were the targets. The Italians came, they were the targets. And so on for practically every ethnic group. We, as Americans, tend to look at the "new" immigrant as the person who will take "our" job and go to "our" schools. Did we forget?

Look at the picture again and see your ancestors. They migrated in quest of that same better life that today's refugees yearn for. Eventually, they will learn to adapt to our environment and system, just like your ancestors. This country is not for any particular group; it's for everyone.

I am a Haitian American.

What does that mean? I am American, born in Boston, with parents who migrated from Haiti. I identify strongly with my Haitian roots as a first generation American citizen. The cultures of both countries have made me the person I am today. I am grateful that my parents made their journey to the United States. There is no place that I would rather be.

With that pride comes responsibility, and my responsibility is to, in my own way, protect the very liberties that we, everyone in this country, enjoy.

This is where my problem lies with the Bush administration.

In December 2001, President Bush authorized a surreptitious Immigration & Naturalization Services (INS) policy that bars Haitian refugees from seeking political asylum in this country. Over two hundred and fifty Haitian political refugees are being detained in Miami Florida as a result. A good number of them came to Florida in the boat pictured on this page, huddled together in a desperate attempt to leave Haiti, where they feared political persecution. Today, many of them are being held in maximum security jails, alongside common criminals. This INS policy is specially designed for Haitians only. In fact, the current policy towards Haitians is in sharp contrast towards our policy towards Cubans, who are given asylum in almost every instance when they arrive on our shores.

So far, the President has ignored calls from immigrant advocates in Florida. He has dismissed criticisms from the likes of Amnesty International, the United Nations, and our own Massachusetts delegation members, including U.S. Senator Edward M. Kennedy and Congressmen Mike Capuano and Stephen Lynch.

This week, a group of Congressmen and women co-authored a letter to U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft calling on the administration to end its lop-sided and unfair treatment of Haitians. In part, the letter reads, "the decision to single out Haitians for this harsh treatment while they are seeking to avail themselves of the American tradition granting refuge to people who face unjust persecution at home is discriminatory and unfair."

This is a Human Rights issue that all sectors must embrace. The Haitian community is under attack by the very leaders in the U.S. who asks us all to "come together as a country in a time of war." Well, the Bush administration is privately waging its own war, a very racist and ugly war against immigrants, specifically against Haitians.

On Thursday, July 25, thousands of demonstrators are expected to protest in front of the JFK Federal building on Boston Hall Plaza. Tell your friends, family and co-workers. Let's show the Bush administration the real America. The America that his ancestors envisioned when they migrated to this land.

(William J. Dorcena of Dorchester is the Publisher of the Boston Haitian Reporter, part of Boston Neighborhood News, Inc. which also publishes the Dorchester Reporter)