Photo: Womens Commission for Refugee Women and Children
CWS Protests Death of Haitian Asylum Seeker
Rev. Joseph Dantica, an 81-year-old Haitian minister and humanitarian who
was fleeing death threats in Haiti, died of apparent pancreatitis on November
3, after spending four days in Krome Detention Center, in south Florida,
where he was placed by the Department of Homeland Security. Church World
Service Executive Director Rev. John L. McCullough says, "Joseph Dantica's
death was a tragedy. The circumstances surrounding his death are outrageous.
To have denied an 81-year-old man needed medication on top of detention is
appalling." Church World Service is redoubling its efforts to see that
our government grants Temporary Protected Status to Haitians in the United
States and develops standards to assure that all Haitians have individual
access to the asylum process.
