14864: Hermantin: Sun Sentinel-29 Haitians and Jamaicans rounded up after reaching Deerfield shore (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: leonie hermantin <lhermantin@hotmail.com>

Sun-Sentinel


29 Haitians and Jamaicans rounded up after reaching Deerfield shore
By Tanya Weinberg
Staff Writer

February 18, 2003

Deerfield Beach · They docked in the dead of night, hidden in the cabin of
the 43-foot cabin cruiser that brought them to South Florida's shores, then
made a break for the street where cars awaited them.

But not everyone slipped into a new life in a new land. The Broward
Sheriff's Office rounded up 29 Haitians and Jamaicans and one American man
suspected of smuggling them to the docks of the Cove Restaurant and Marina
early Monday.

"We are still trying to verify through interviews if there were additional
people who are at large, who absconded," said U.S. Border Patrol spokesman
Keith Roberts.

After a cleaning woman alerted him that the docks were full of people about
3:30 a.m., Cove Restaurant manager Bill Osgood said he broke from inventory
duty to look outside.

He watched 10 to 12 people run up the dock, onto the street and jump into
several waiting cars, he said.

"They were dressed fairly decent. I saw some women carrying babies and
stuff," Osgood said. "They came ready to mingle right in. It was pretty well
planned."

It may not have been the first trip of its kind. Osgood said the cleaning
woman told him she had seen a similar group of 50 or 60 escape into the
night about four weeks ago.

About 5:30 a.m., as many as 20 deputies swooped into the area after
receiving a tip about the landing, said Chief George Brennan of the
sheriff's office Deerfield Beach district.

"We called in a chopper to do a visual search from above," Brennan said.
"The Coast Guard did come, but we didn't think anyone was in the water. But
we looked."

Osgood said a deputy told him that some were apprehended in the Publix
parking lot a few blocks away and that the boat owner may have been
stranded.

"Apparently his boat broke down, that's why they caught him. They say he
blew an engine," Osgood said.

Money was found aboard the boat and the Border Patrol is confident the U.S.
Attorney's Office will pursue a smuggling case against the owner, Roberts
said. He would not reveal the man's identity but said he had a history of
narcotics-related charges.

The 23 Haitian adult passengers, three Haitian children and three Jamaican
adults will be taken to the Krome detention center and put into expedited
deportation proceedings under a new policy, said Barbara González, a
spokeswoman for the Immigration and Naturalization Service.

INS in November issued the policy, days after more than 200 Haitians jumped
off a 50-foot wooden boat into Biscayne Bay in October. Under the policy,
people arriving by boat are denied release, even if they apply for asylum.
For the 10 months prior to the change, only Haitians were subject to the
policy. It does not apply to Cubans, who are generally released within a few
days and are eligible for residency one year later.

Staff Writer Susannah Bryan contributed to this report.

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






_________________________________________________________________
STOP MORE SPAM with the new MSN 8 and get 2 months FREE*
http://join.msn.com/?page=features/junkmail