(Catholic) Church, immigrant groups plan to airlift Haitian orphans to South Florida
Source: Miami Herald
In a move mirroring Operation Pedro Pan in the 1960s, Catholic Charities and other South Florida immigrant rights organizations are planning an ambitious effort to airlift possibly thousands of Haitian children left orphaned in the aftermath of Tuesday's horrific earthquake.
``We will use the model we used 40 years ago with Pedro Pan to bring these orphans to the United States to give them a lifeline, a bright and hopeful future,'' Catholic Charities Legal Services executive director Randolph McGrorty said at a news conference in the offices of Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart.
``Given the enormity of what happened in Haiti, a priority is to bring these orphaned children to the United States,'' he said.
Archdiocese of Miami officials and other local organizations have already identified a temporary shelter in Broward County to house the children, McGrorty said.
He also said they had been in contact with the Obama administration to assist in bringing the children from Haiti with humanitarian visas.
I'm okay with this - orphaned children would go hungry in Haiti - they will find homes here. Anyone over 18, um...
