Aliens Can Be Held Near Rio Grande, U.S. Judge Decides
A federal judge on Friday reinstated an Immigration and Naturalization Service policy barring political asylum-seekers from traveling beyond the Rio Grande Valley while their applications are pending.
Justice Department officials have not disclosed a plan for sheltering the thousands of Central Americans to be held under the restriction. A congressman has said the INS would set up a “tent city” detention camp, but the agency said that was only one of several options under consideration.
The agency estimates that more than 100,000 Central Americans will pour into the area this year after crossing the Rio Grande illegally near Brownsville.
U.S. District Judge Filemon Vela on Jan. 9 blocked the INS from restricting the travel of asylum-seekers after a group of immigration attorneys sued the INS.
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