15398: Haitian refugee held despite gaining bond (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: leonie hermantin <lhermantin@hotmail.com>

Sun Sentinel

Haitian refugee held despite gaining bond



By Alva James-Johnson
Staff Writer

April 24, 2003

U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft, standing on a platform of national
security, directed the government Wednesday to vacate a ruling that would
have released a Haitian refugee on bond.

The decision in the case of David Joseph, 18, who reached Biscayne Bay last
fall with a boatload of more than 200 Haitian immigrants, appeared to also
apply to those who arrived with him, and could have even more wide-ranging
implications, legal experts said.

"It's a precedent-setting decision that could adversely affect persons of
all nationalities granted bonds, not just Haitians," said Cheryl Little,
executive director of the Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center. "This nails the
coffin for the Haitian asylum seekers seeking bond, but all asylum seekers
should be concerned."

Ashcroft said in the decision that the government was concerned about
undocumented Haitians being released without adequate background checks, and
had noticed an increase in Pakistanis and Palestinians "using Haiti as a
staging point for attempted migration to the United States." He said
authorities were also concerned the release of the Haitians would encourage
mass migration from Haiti.

Ashcroft's decision sparked an immediate response from immigrant advocates.

"I think it perpetuates the policy of discrimination based on race and
national origin that Haitians have faced for a quarter of a century in their
efforts to come to the United States," said Ira Kurzban, an immigration law
expert for 25 years. "The attorney general's claim of national security
would be farcical if it didn't have such serious implications for these
people that are detained."

Little said the government was wasting resources targeting innocent Haitians
who pose no threat to the American people. She said Haitian asylum seekers
are being detained, while those from many other countries continue to be
quickly released on bond.

"We're extremely troubled by this decision, and we're going to see what
steps we can take to challenge it," she said.

Joseph and most other Haitian asylum seekers who came with him have been in
detention since their arrival Oct. 29. Most were granted bonds by an
immigration judge.

But the Immigration and Naturalization Service appealed those bond decisions
to the Board of Immigration Appeals, arguing the immigrants' release would
threaten important national security interests.



Alva James-Johnson can be reached at ajjohnson@sun-sentinel.com or
954-356-4523.


Copyright © 2003, South Florida Sun-Sentinel






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