America's response to the tragedy in Haiti has nothing to do with humanitarianism - or with help provided by a rich country to a suffering people with a per capita Gross Domestic Product of 2 dollars per day. America's response has nothing to do with the fact that the founder of Chicago was a Haitian immigrant (Jean Baptiste Point du Sable) or that renowned ornithologist and painter John James Audubon was also an immigrant from Haiti. Rather, the two factoids above illustrate how immigration ties neighbors together. The ties holding Haiti to America are deep, and as neighborly ties go, are both bitter and sweet.

In 1779, 750 Haitian soldiers fought with us against the British in the Siege of Savannah during the American Revolution. The US Marines were the de facto rulers of Haiti from 1915 to 1934, an entire generation of Marine leaders learnt their trade in Haiti, and in the process built most of the tiny country's roads. The American military has had to intervene repeatedly in Haiti, most recently in the mid-1990s and in the mid-2000s, to provide police functions, among other things. The same neighborly ties apply to the Haiti's other neighbors: In 1815, Haiti provided the soldiers and the money to Simon de Bolivar for his campaign freeing the nations of Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Panama and Peru. Continuing those ties into the present, the current Chief Executive of Canada, Governor General Michaelle Jean, is a refugee from Haiti.

The true tragedy in Haiti has only begun. With such a large percentage of fatalities (reportedly about 1% of the country's population), Haiti will not be able to bury its dead. Dead bodies will soon begin rotting in the streets and collapsed buildings, and tens of thousands of deaths from disease can be expected in the months to follow. Doubtless, America will lead the effort to rebuild the infrastructure in Haiti, infrastructure necessary to prevent further death and suffering - roads, electricity, hospitals. But it is going to be a very long effort, and we believe that America will need to provide a significant quantity not just of the dollars, but also the personnel.

There exists one organization in the US with significant experience in Haiti, and that organization has swung into action - the US military. News reports indicate that 3,500 soldiers of the 82nd Airborne were boarding planes to Haiti as of Thursday morning. The timing of the boarding leads us to the following reconstruction. We believe that the Pentagon dug up contingency plans within hours of the earthquake, as the outlines of the calamity became faintly visible. We believe that the President was briefed at his daily National Security Council meeting on Wednesday morning, and that he ordered the deployment of significant quantities of troops. America's primary strategic reserve, the President's personal 9-1-1 force, is the Division Ready Brigade of the 82nd Airborne, exactly the force which is deploying today, the Brigade usually deploys 24 hours after the initial order. If our reconstruction is correct, the US will be sending significant forces to the island over the coming weeks and months, forces large enough to affect the two wars currently under way. We believe that the President will either have to scale back the efforts in the wars under way or activate some reserves. In other words, the Haitian tragedy is an American one too - our options in Iraq and Afghanistan will be constrained by the earthquake.

The American military and the international community can only do so much to help put Haiti back on its feet. Many studies in recent years have shown that perhaps the best form of foreign aid is remittances sent by emigrant workers to family back home - there is no corruption to worry about, and money is spent exactly where it is most needed. And that is why TPS (temporary protected status) is crucial, as is the role of the immigration bar. There may be between 50,000 and 100,000 potential TPS beneficiaries in the US. Practitioners serving the Haitian community in the US will surely rise to the occasion - there is straight-forward financial incentive for them to do so. However, the size of the need will be more than the current supply. Immigration attorneys serving other communities will likely consider adding Haiti to their client-mix, after USCIS does the right thing and announces the TPS procedures, again this is a smart business move anyway. But the above two categories are small. There are many immigration attorneys who are moved by the plight of the victims in Haiti, and who are primarily in employment-based practice, who can and should help. We urge them to consider taking just one reduced-fee or no-fee Haitian TPS case after the expected USCIS announcement. This (and not just a donation to the Red Cross) is the real, long-term help that the immigration bar can offer to those suffering today in Haiti.

While the faces of the human tragedy fill our TV screens, we must not forget that the real ties between America and Haiti will be very much alive after those images on TV have faded. The immigration law community in the US will be in a unique position to help the Haitian people after the USCIS TPS announcement. We urge our readers to standby. Over to you, USCIS!

Editor's note--This article originally appeared in Immigration Daily