Hillary offers aid and support for Haiti

Yesterday, Secretary Clinton made a stop in Haiti on her way to today’s Summit of the Americas in Trinidad and Tobago. (Above, she meets with Haitian President René Préval.) She offered $300 million in aid to help the country get back on its feet after it was ravaged by storms last year.

Clinton also said the Obama administration might halt deportation orders for 30,000 Haitians in the United States. She did add, however, that any loosening of deportation orders would apply only to those who had made it to the United States before Barack Obama became president. Her explanation: “We don’t want to encourage other Haitians to make the dangerous journey across the water.”

Interestingly, Clinton and her husband Bill have a nostalgic tie to Haiti. Shortly after they married, more than 30 years ago, they visited Haiti. “I have a personal interest in Haiti going back many years,” Secretary Clinton told the Miami Herald. She added, “[Bill and I] have always been cheering for the success of Haiti against some pretty tough odds.”

Photo: THONY BELIZAIRE/AFP/Getty Images