U.N. Official Visits Refugee Camps in Texas

A United Nations refugee expert visiting the southern tip of Texas said Wednesday she had seen hundreds of Central American emigrants camping in makeshift tents and crowded into dilapidated motels.

“Clearly these people are experiencing difficulty and hardship, and this is one thing I wanted to come down and see about,” said Susan Timberlake of the Washington, D.C., office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees.

Timberlake planned to stay in the lower Rio Grande Valley until today visiting immigrant shelters and meeting with local officials and Immigration and Naturalization Service representatives. She said that as of Wednesday she had not observed any apparent violations of international law.

Al De Leon, assistant INS district director for examinations in Harlingen, said no violations of U.N. protocol were relayed to him in his meeting with Timberlake.

“Basically, she is down here to observe and learn about the situation,” he said.

More than 30,000 Central Americans have crossed the Rio Grande illegally near Brownsville and sought political asylum since the end of May, when the INS started keeping count of the flood of “other than Mexican” newcomers.

The concentration of Central Americans in the valley has increased sharply since Dec. 16, when the INS started requiring asylum-seeking immigrants to submit their applications at the Harlingen office and to receive word of approval or denial here.