Injured Cuban flown to Florida will be allowed to seek asylum

From Terry Frieden
CNN Justice Department producer

WASHINGTON -- The injured man in the crashed Cuban plane who was sent by helicopter to Florida on Tuesday for medical care will have the right to apply for asylum, U.S. Immigration and Naturalization officials said Tuesday.

VIDEO CNN's Mark Potter reports on the sequence of events leading to the rescue of the occupants of a crashed Cuban plane (September 19) Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)     HISTORY Leaving Cuba by air     MESSAGE BOARD US/Cuba relations Air safety

If the man is found eligible, he will be allowed to apply for permanent legal resident status in the United States after a year, officials said.

The eight other survivors -- two men, three women and three children -- will be questioned by INS officials aboard a Coast Guard cutter about whether they would face a threat of persecution if they are returned to Cuba.

INS officials said they did not know whether any of the Cubans intended to seek asylum.

White House spokesman Joe Lockhart told CNN on Tuesday night it was too early to predict what would happen to the plane's passengers.

"Any decision on where they will go and what will be done with them will be made down the road," Lockhart said.

If the INS determines any individuals have a "credible fear" of persecution, they will be taken to Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, where they will face a second inquiry with a higher standard. If it is determined they have what the INS calls a "well-founded" fear of being mistreated in Cuba, they would be allowed to come to the United States to seek asylum.

However, those who are determined not to meet the standards for asylum under current law -- either aboard the Coast Guard cutter or at the U.S. base -- will be returned to Cuba, the INS official said.

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