The Nation - News from July 7, 1988

The Reagan Administration urged Congress not to extend constitutional protections to hundreds of Cuban refugees detained in American prisons by immigration authorities. Deputy Associate Atty. Gen. Cary H. Copeland told a House panel that two bills introduced in the aftermath of the Atlanta and Oakdale, La., prison riots last year would only prolong the review process set up to determine which Cuban detainees should be released on parole. “We believe we have a system that can work and will work, and we hope you will give it an opportunity to work,” Copeland told the House Judiciary subcommittee on refugees and immigration law. One bill being considered by the House panel would grant any Cuban detainee denied parole by both Immigration and Naturalization Service and Justice Department review boards another hearing within 90 days before an administrative law judge.