The Nation - News from Feb. 24, 1989

The number of Central Americans seeking political asylum in South Texas declined again under tough new immigration rules that place most of them in jail. Critics of the Immigration and Naturalization Service’s Rio Grande policy said refugees would just be driven to other border crossing points or go underground. Only 10 applicants were processed Thursday, compared to 50 Wednesday and 233 Tuesday, the day the tougher rules went into effect. Of all those applicants, only two had been granted asylum by Thursday and the rest were put in barracks at the INS Port Isabel Service Processing Center in Bayview or in a Red Cross Shelter in Brownsville. Under the new INS policy, immigrants applying for asylum in South Texas must remain in the area until their cases are processed, and those found to have submitted false or frivolous claims are jailed.