Haitian migrants missing in Caribbean waters

Rescuers continue to search for at least ten migrants whose boat capsized off the British Virgin Islands.

According to the AP, twenty-six passengers mostly from Haiti had been aboard the overloaded vessel which overturned Monday night. Among those still missing from the U.S.-bound boat are three women and two children.

Poverty in Haiti has worsened over the last few months as the country has been hit hard by the global economic crisis and a series of summer storms. A three-month moratorium on U.S. deportations to Haiti was lifted last month and immigration authorities rejected granting Haitian migrants temporary protected status.

Is it any wonder that some people hope that change in the White House could lead to change in immigration policy?

Chiefly, immigration advocates would like the administration to revive a push to create a path for legalization of illegal immigrants. More immediately, they hope the administration will agree to temporarily block deportations to Haiti, allowing Haitians already in the United States to work and send help to relatives back home. The Bush administration has repeatedly denied such requests…

Asked about Haiti during her Senate confirmation hearing last week, Hillary Clinton, Obama's nominee for secretary of state, said she shares concerns about the Caribbean nation.

Image- BBC News (2001 image of Haitian migrants on an over packed boat)
Online Sources- The Latin Americanist, AP, WFTS-TV, Caribbean Net News, miamiherald.com