|
||||||||
  |
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Coast Guard repatriates more Haitians
MIAMI, Florida (CNN) -- The U.S. Coast Guard Wednesday repatriated more than 230 Haitians intercepted at sea this weekend on two separate vessels. A statement from the Coast Guard said 238 Haitians and one Bahamian were returned to Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Wednesday morning. The emigrants -- who were believed to have been trying to enter the United States illegally -- were taken aboard the Coast Guard cutter "Valiant" as it patrolled the Windward Passage between Haiti and Cuba Sunday. The cutter's crew first took 129 migrants off a "dangerously overcrowded" 45-foot vessel about 35 miles southwest of Great Inagua, Bahamas. Later that afternoon, a Coast Guard jet spotted another boat about 27 miles northwest of Ile de Tortue, Haiti. The Valiant intercepted the boat and brought another 110 migrants on board. Both vessels were destroyed because they were deemed dangerous and posed navigational hazards. "We are especially relieved that we were able to locate these unsafe vessels before their voyage changed from being illegal to being deadly," said Rear Adm. Jay Carmichael, commander of the 7th Coast Guard District. Emigrants intercepted at sea are generally repatriated almost immediately. On October 29, a dilapidated wooden boat carrying more than 230 Haitians arrived near Key Biscayne, Florida. When the boat ran aground, the passengers streamed over the sides and began walking across the Rickenbacker Causeway, a bridge to Miami. Local law enforcement detained most of the Haitians and took them to the Immigration and Naturalization Service's Krome Detention Center, where many are filing claims for political asylum. Six men, including the captain of the 58-foot wooden vessel, were charged with smuggling for bringing the emigrants to the United States. Unlike Cubans, who under the 1966 Cuban Adjustment Act are automatically granted asylum if they reach shore -- also known as the "wet foot, dry foot" policy -- Haitians and other would-be immigrants must apply for political asylum. If they pass a "credible fear" interview, showing they have reason to believe they would be persecuted in their homeland, they are cleared to begin the asylum process. Some officials have warned that if the Haitians are allowed to stay, it could set off an migrational wave from the poor country and tempt people to make the perilous journey on vessels that are not seaworthy. The Coast Guard said it has intercepted more than 24 migrant and migrant-smuggling boats since October 1. More than 600 migrants -- including 215 Cubans, 324 Haitians and 89 Dominican Republic migrants -- have been repatriated.
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
