14573: Hermantin: Sun-Sentinel:Lawsuit seeks release of Haitians who landed in Biscayne Bay (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: leonie hermantin <lhermantin@hotmail.com>

Sun-Sentinel
Lawsuit seeks release of Haitians who landed in Biscayne Bay
By Tanya Weinberg
Staff Writer

January 22, 2003

Claiming that the government has "doomed to failure" the asylum claims of
detained Haitian refugees, the Haitian Lawyers Association has filed a
federal lawsuit calling for their release.

"This lawsuit is about freedom. Freedom from detention, and freedom from
political persecution," lawyers association vice president Hans Ottinot said
Tuesday. "In this country you cannot put people in jail and throw away the
key if they have never committed a crime. We believe, and which we will
prove to the court, that INS action is illegal, unconstitutional and
immoral."

The Haitian Lawyers Association filed the suit Friday on behalf of six of
the more than 200 Haitian refugees who jumped out of a crowded boat into
Biscayne Bay on Oct. 29. The suit claims that detention prevents the
asylum-seekers meaningful access to attorneys and due process.

The Immigration and Naturalization Service generally does not comment on
pending litigation, spokeswoman Barbara Gonzalez said.

The Oct. 29 landing raised a public outcry over an INS policy to detain
Haitian asylum-seekers, while those of other nationalities were routinely
released as they prepared their cases.

On Nov. 8 the Bush administration responded to charges of discrimination
with a new policy to detain all refugees arriving by sea, with the exception
of Cubans. Cubans are generally released if they reach land and under the
Cuban Adjustment Act are eligible for legal residency one year later.

The Nov. 8 policy has yet to affect any refugees arriving on South Florida
shores other than Haitians. Since that date the U.S. Border Patrol has
apprehended 118 Cubans and 17 Haitians who arrived by boat.

The administration has said detaining refugees is a means to deter a
possible mass migration from Haiti, as well as a way to prevent the
diversion of national security resources. The Coast Guard repatriates many
refugees before they ever make it to U.S. shores.

Since Nov. 8 the Coast Guard has intercepted 662 Dominicans, 630 Haitians
and 178 Cubans.

"The Dominican flow is up, but I also know we're working hard with our
interagency partners to patrol that route, and we're having success," said
Coast Guard spokesman Lt. Tony Russell.

Of 165 Haitian refugees rescued Dec. 3, 2001, from a grounded boat near
Miami, 21 remain in INS detention more than a year later.

The Haitian Lawyers Association's lawsuit is one of numerous attempts by
immigrant advocates to expand the applications of a 2001 Supreme Court
ruling that restricts the indefinite detention of deportable criminals whose
home countries will not accept them, said Mike Hethmon, staff counsel for
the Washington-based Federation for American Immigration Reform.

"It's a good way to get your folks into the country," Hethmon said, "but
they certainly have an uphill battle."

Tanya Weinberg can be reached at tweinberg@sun-sentinel.com or 305-810-5029.
Copyright © 2003, South Florida Sun-Sentinel





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