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April 6, 2007

black foot, white foot

Adbul-Jabbar (Go Terriers!) writes of the Congressional Black Caucus:

The CBC has also balked at making ANY statements about the 101 Haitians that recently washed up on South Florida's shores with an impending threat to be returned via the racist wet foot dry foot policy that would give Cuban immigrants in the same situation instant promise of residency in the U.S. [full comment]

For those who haven't been following, the last week of March 101 Haitians landed on a beach in South Florida, this after surviving 22 days in a homemade sailboat (the last 12 days without food, apparently). They were, of course, immediately rounded up by INS and are now being prepped for deportation back to Haiti. While deporting folks busted in flagrante non documentus is a fairly straight-forward maneuver in most of the country, this case has underscored the absurdity of immigration in Cuban-rich South Florida, and, by extension, in the rest of the country.

Basically, under a policy shorthanded as "wet foot, dry foot," Cubans snatched up on the high seas (wet) get sent back, while Cubans busted on land (dry) are not only allowed to stay, but fast-tracked for legal residency. Needless to say, all other migrants who are caught in the US without papers - wet, dry; fresh, not-so-fresh - get their asses shipped back with a quickness. Wet foot-dry foot puts the lie to the notion that the US has a rational, non-racist immigration policy, and yet I have yet to hear Lou Dobbs open his fat, doughy gob to complain about it.

The benefits associated with having a dry, Cuban foot in Florida have a long history, dating back to the 1966 Cuban Adjustment Act:

In order to provide aid to recently arrived Cuban immigrants, the United States Congress passed the Cuban American Adjustment Act in 1966. The Cuban Refugee Program provided more than $1.2 billion of direct financial assistance. They also were eligible for public assistance, Medicare, free English courses, scholarships, and low interest college loans. Some banks even pioneered loans for exiles who did not have collateral or credit but received help in getting a business loan simply because they were of Cuban descent. These loans enabled many Cuban Americans to secure funds and create their own businesses. [full wikipedia]

$1.2 billion 1966 dollars is likely chump change in a world where we can literally lose a billion or so in Iraq, but, to understand the scope of this aid, keep in mind that Lyndon Johnson's War on Poverty launched at around the same time for a pricetag of $3 billion dollars over two years. I appreciate that this is an apples and oranges comparison, mostly because the War on Poverty led to decades-long programs that ended up costing quite a bit. But there is a legitimate sense in which Cubans were allocated just a scootch less than half of what the US intended to spend on all of poor people, a class that was, of course, imagined as being pretty non-white and African American at the time.

What does this have to do with the Congressional Black Caucus?

The Congressional Black Caucus has long been Haiti's strongest advocate, urging more economic aid and criticizing the lack of U.S. support for former Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, ousted in 2004 amid a violent uprising. And after the elections last November, Democrats active on Haiti issues now hold key posts.

Michigan Rep. John Conyers heads the Judiciary Committee, giving him a key say on immigration and refugee matters. Rep. Charles Rangel of New York now chairs the House Ways and Means Committee, which steers U.S. trade policy, among other matters. One member of that committee is U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek of Miami, who is traveling to Haiti today to discuss immigration issues with President René Préval and the U.S. ambassador in Port-au-Prince. [full story]

The obvious gag embedded in the above item is if the CBC is your "strongest advocate," you are fucked. But, in fairness to the CBC, many of its members fought the good fight vis-a-vis Haiti during the 1990s, their simpatico pull with Bill Clinton helping get Jean-Bertrand Aristide restored after he was ousted in 1991. The problem is that CBC members are at the core politicians, and as a result see intrinsic value in making the right tactical moves even when said moves put them at odds with things like, well, the truth. In this case, tactical good involves propping up current Haitian president (and CBC fave) Rene Preval, this by refusing to underscore what a complete mess his country is in. As Adbul-Jabbar (Go Terriers!) explains:

The CBC has made statements in support of the Haitian community in the past, but it seems that they fear antagonizing the Preval administration by addressing the conditions in Haiti that have forced its poor to seek refuge on the shore's of South Florida. I think if this had occurred during the Latortue administration, Maxine Waters would be screaming for the return of Aristide at the top of her lungs. The CBC giveth and the CBC taketh away... [full comment]

This is the same capitulation to false realpolitik that had the CBC lining up behind William Jefferson, or allows Albert Wynn to walk the halls of Congress as if he's an honorable black leader, or lets the Congressional Black Caucus Institute think it can hold a debate with FOX News without seeming like utter hypocrites.

In the old era, where analysis didn't come with hyperlinks and political memory wasn't powered by google, it was possible for black leaders to adhere to a cyncial 80:20 rule. Their reputations rested safely on a 20 percent nugget of effectiveness and decency, this while 80 percent of their terms were spent indulging in the same-old-machine-politician-shit under the cover of darkness. Heck, forget 20 percent. If you figure that some of these empty suits have been cruising on that 10 percent presumption of progressive politics that attends all black Democrats, the split is more like 10:10:80.

10 percent is a terrible score by any measure. I believe there is still an important role for a caucus of African American legislators to serve, but if it all it has to offer is blackness and 10% it should at least disband the Institute. Just have a black-while-in-Congress merit badge or pin and pursue your politics - good, bad, or indifferent - without pretense or play-acting. Heck, you can even have a yearly breakfast, but don't get up on the high horse and act like being a CBC member means anything, because it sure doesn't seem to mean much to those Haitians.

(The poster image above, BTW, is from the movie Popi, which, despite being borderline racist in a bunch of ways, was one of my favorite movies growing up. The way that the Puerto Rican kids in that movie are forced to enact a fantasy of Cuban-ness struck a chord with me, navigating Haitian, African American and white spaces as I was, each zone with its own risks and perks. Also, Popi's take on daddy love, a mighty under-theorized thing for straight dudes, always struck me as instructive and curious, Popi pairing that age when boys still crave physical intimacy with their fathers with a story about being stranded in the middle of the ocean by dad, this for your own good. Completely fascinating and tear-making!)

Posted by ebogjonson in race and other identities, on April 6, 2007 11:25 AM

Comments

Posted by: Abdul-Jabbar at April 7, 2007 11:48 AM

Posted by: Fire Albert Wynn at April 19, 2007 6:55 AM