Judge Lets Refugees Held in Texas Leave

Hundreds of Central American refugees, many of them living for weeks in a South Texas shantytown, were granted the right to leave Monday after a federal judge ordered the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service to stop refusing them permission to travel while their asylum applications are being reviewed.

The action, a temporary restraining order issued by U.S. District Judge Filemon Vela in Brownsville, was greeted with cheers by an estimated 300 refugees who had been living in a field without running water or toilets. Their only shelter often was a piece of heavy plastic propped up by branches cut from nearby trees. Others stayed in the shell of the gutted Amber Motel in Brownsville, bathing at a nearby car wash.

In all, nearly 2,000 aliens were believed to be in Brownsville under the INS travel restriction that took effect Dec. 16.

“One would have to be blind not to recognize that we have a problem,” said Vela in issuing the order, which will remain in effect pending a hearing Thursday, when he will hear arguments on issuing an indefinite permanent injunction against the INS.

The INS, meanwhile, defended its policy, saying that it was designed to curb abuses in the asylum process that has created thousands of backlog cases in some cities. More than 30,000 Central Americans passed through the southern tip of Texas last year.

Many of them are Nicaraguans--about 16,000 since late May--a huge increase brought on by the dual collapse of the Contra armies and the Sandinista economy. The INS position is that most of those now seeking asylum are doing so for economic reasons, not political ones, and therefore are not eligible for asylum.

But those who filed the suit that led to Vela’s order contended that the INS action is inhumane, as well as a violation of provisions enacted by Congress in 1980 to ensure fair asylum hearings. Further, they also said it is a policy that does not conform with federal guidelines that mandate a 30-day notice for major policy changes. Before the new rule went into effect Dec. 16, a refugee was allowed to apply for asylum where he or she planned to reside. The applications can often take months to resolve.

“We are very heartened by the decision,” said Robert Rubin of the San Francisco Lawyers’ Committee for Urban Affairs, one of the organizations that participated in the suit. “We will vigorously pursue the case. There was tremendous exhilaration on the part of the refugees. Many of them told me they were leaving immediately.”

The judge’s ruling came after he rejected a request from INS lawyer David Ayala to delay action to give the government a chance to prepare further arguments.

Brownsville, in one of the poorest regions in the United States, began feeling the pinch of the new INS rule in late December as more and more Central American refugees crossed the border and registered for asylum. And each one was told that he was required to stay in the area.

Casa Oscar Romero, long a haven for refugees, quickly filled to its 200-person capacity, leaving hundreds of impoverished Central Americans to fend for themselves. Miami, another popular destination for refugees, also began to feel the pressure of a mounting population and a baseball stadium was transformed into a makeshift shelter.

Then, on Friday, attorneys working on behalf of the refugees filed suit. The judge’s action Monday came as some refugees faced a further dilemma. The owner of the land where many are squatting has complained that they are trespassing on his property.