17153: (Hermantin)Miami-Herald-Haitian X-rayed in age inquiry (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: leonie hermantin <lhermantin@hotmail.com>

Posted on Fri, Nov. 07, 2003

IMMIGRATION
Haitian X-rayed in age inquiry
Seeking to test a claim that a detained Haitian migrant is a minor, U.S.
authorities order wrist X-rays and ask questions on his life history, irking
immigrant-rights advocates.
BY JACQUELINE CHARLES
jcharles@herald.com

Still unconvinced that Haitian migrant Ernesto Joseph is a minor,
immigration authorities have had his wrist X-rayed to try to determine his
age and have asked him whether he remembers the name of the person who
baptized him, his lawyers say.

Earlier this week, the Office of Immigration and Customs Enforcement also
sent a letter to Joseph's attorneys asking for their help in obtaining his
baptismal record and information on the specific place where his parents are
buried.

Cheryl Little, executive director of the Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center,
which represents Joseph, said the wrist X-ray was ordered by immigration
authorities to see whether Joseph's bone structure is that of a 16-year-old
or an older person. Such tests, she argued in a memo she drafted to them,
are deemed ''inherently unreliable'' by the scientific community.

''We believe the Department of Homeland Security has an abundance of
evidence to reasonably conclude Ernesto is 16 and yet he remains a virtual
prisoner in his hotel room while DHS insists on continuing its
investigation,'' Little said in a telephone interview. Joseph was among 214
migrants whose boat ran aground near Key Biscayne on Oct. 29, 2002.

He has been detained at a West Miami-Dade County motel since Oct. 2 when
immigration authorities -- who had temporarily released him pending a final
outcome of his asylum case -- put him back into detention after a final
deportation order.

Last week, the Office of Immigration and Customs Enforcement decided to
extend Joseph's stay in detention while the government finishes its
investigation into his age.

The government's continued inquiries worry immigration advocates, who insist
that Joseph should be allowed to stay in the United States because, they
believe, he is a 16-year-old orphan.

U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek, D-Miami, sent a letter on Thursday to John Mata,
field director for Detention and Removal for the ICE, asking that he use
''the discretion and powers'' of his office immediately to release Joseph to
the custody of his uncle, Adelphin Pierre.

''It is very clear to me and, I believe, to any objective observer, that the
Department of Homeland Security and the Justice Department are committed to
use all of their resources and discretion under our immigration laws and
regulations to place upon this teenager burdens he will never be able to
bear; requirements he will never be able to meet; and expenses he can never
pay, in order to deport him back to Haiti,'' Meek wrote.

The ICE on Thursday said only that the agency was reiterating the statement
it made last week when it extended Joseph's stay of deportation.

''Mr. Joseph will remain in ICE custody at this time until all issues are
resolved,'' a statement said.

Little said she is very concerned about Joseph, who suffers from depression
and who has not been able to visit with his uncle since his detention.

Her request to have Joseph examined by an independent counselor was denied
late last month. She was told on Thursday that a visit has been scheduled
for Joseph and his uncle on Saturday.

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