The Clinton administration tried Monday to douse fears of a massive influx of Haitian refugees after a change in its policy of repatriation.
Deputy national security adviser Sandy Berger said fewer than 5% of Haitians picked up at sea would gain entry to the USA under President Clinton's decision to grant hearings to refugees rather than sending them straight back.
"I don't think it's going to be overwhelming numbers," Berger said on ABC's Good Morning America. "There were 1,300 people so far this year who were picked up on boats. Five percent of that is not a very high number."
In Haiti, the U.S. Embassy launched a media campaign to discourage Haitians from trying to flee, emphasizing that most are sent back.
Still, Florida officials remained firmly opposed to the change in a policy dating to the Bush administration:
-- "I think it will amount to a very substantial green light for people to leave Haiti," Sen. Bob Graham, D-Fla., said on NBC's Today show. He expects a flow of 5,000 to 10,000 people a month.
-- "That policy is likely to result in even heavier burden for the state of Florida," said Democratic Gov. Lawton Chiles. "The federal government should respond and pay, not Florida."
-- The policy is "an open invitation" to Haitians, said Rep. Clay Shaw, R-Fla.
Clinton abandoned the immediate-return policy under intense criticism for failing to act against the military regime that ousted democratically elected President Jean-Bertrand Aristide in 1991.
Clinton said he wants Haitian refugees screened to determine whether they have legitimate fears of persecution at home. The White House wants up to six weeks to determine whether screening is done on Coast Guard ships or in a third country.
Clinton also raised the possibility of military action against Haiti, an idea applauded by Randall Robinson, the TransAfrica leader who Sunday ended a 27-day hunger strike against the repatriation policy.
"I think ultimately we're going to need military intervention," Robinson said on ABC's Nightline. "We have to do it." The military rulers are "not going to leave until force is demonstrated."
But other refugee advocates were waiting to hear more from Clinton.
"This is a test of whether Clinton is serious (about saving Haitians) or this is just a shell game," says Rick Swartz, a Washington lawyer and refugee adviser.
But the administration wants weeks to answer those questions. "The devil is in the details," says Jocelyn McCalla of the National Coalition for Haitian Refugees.
Advocates hope Clinton can persuade - or pay - a third country to set up refugee camps at U.S. taxpayers' expense. Advocates also want the United Nations involved.
"What are the alternatives?" says Robert Rubin of the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights. "Either continuing what we're doing now - which means returning Haitians to their death - or invading with U.S. troops, which will cost more."
