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Extract:

This Saturday, January 12th, is the third anniversary of the earthquake in Haiti.  Guess what:  the place is still a mess.  Not as big a mess at it was, mind you:  The Economist reports that most of the earthquake rubble has been cleared, and the "most visible" refugee camps have been emptied.

The problem, says The Economist, is that while Haiti needs investment to generate social stability, it needs social stability to attract investment.  Aha.

How bad is social stability in Haiti?  Bad enough for the State Department to have just issued an advisory for travelers, quote from that: "U.S. citizens have been victims of violent crime, including murder and kidnapping, predominantly in the Port-au-Prince area. No one is safe from kidnapping, regardless of occupation, nationality, race, gender or age."

Well, at least after three years, surely it's safe enough for the TPS's to go back, isn't it?  TPS is "temporary protected status," an immigration category allowed to illegal immigrants from Haiti who were here when the earthquake struck.  Under TPS you can stay for 18 months and are allowed to work.  The Miami Herald says that there are currently 60,000 TPS's from Haiti.  So . . . isn't it time they went home?

 Our federal government doesn't think so.  They have just loosened the requirements for re-registration ? that is, for another 18 months of stay on top of the two they've already had.  Face it, these people are here for good.

Wouldn't Haiti itself be better off if they took their talents back there to help rebuild the place?  Aren't they homesick anyway?  

I dunno. Perhaps they read that State Department advisory.

(That's based on a report by the indefatigable Ann Corcoran at Refugee Resettlement Watch.)