Caribbean-American politicians often times extend the aid they provide past the boundaries of the United States, to their home country and the Caribbean as whole. This is a step past solely helping the Caribbean diaspora and immigrants. It shows that the transnational migrants keep their connections the their home countries and are willing to use their political power to make a difference there.

Some politicians that act in this way are:

Jumaane Williams, a New York City Council member of Grenadian decent. (left)

Yvette Clarke, a New York Congresswoman of Jamaican decent. (right)

On Jumaane Williams’ website, he discusses his efforts to help Haiti after the 2010 earthquake. He organized a relief effort to send resources to Haiti and encouraged the extension of the time period that the refugees were allowed to stay in the United States.

“In January 2010, following the devastating earthquake that hit Haiti, Jumaane quickly helped mobilize volunteers and contributions to deliver to reputable relief organizations. As the elected representative of one of the nation’s largest Haitian populations, he was designated as an appointee to a task force created by former Governor Paterson to address the effects of the crisis in New York City and beyond; this led to his creation of the 45^th District Haitian Relief Effort, a mobile clinic to provide various types of support for Haitian immigrants and their families, in conjunction with the Haitian American Business Network (HABNET). He was a leading voice in calling for the extension of temporary protected status for Haitian nationals, and he has repeatedly lobbied federal leaders to ensure its extension while the nation recovers.”

Yvette Clarke has an entire section regarding “Caribbean Issues” on her website:

Caribbean Issues Section on Yvette D. Clarke’s Website (http://clarke.house.gov/issues/caribbean-issues)

Yvette D. Clarke met with the Prime Minister of Jamaica, Portia Simpson Miller, in order to provide support with negotiations between Jamaica and the International Monetary Fund. This was reported by Caribbean Life News. Click here for the original story.

by Nicolás Yehya

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