200 Haitian Refugees Held at Sea as U.S. Weighs Their Fate
The United States said Friday it was holding about 200 Haitian refugees on Coast Guard vessels off Florida while it decided what to do with them.
State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said the Coast Guard since last week had intercepted six overcrowded and unsafe vessels carrying Haitians trying to enter the United States illegally.
“These people are now aboard Coast Guard cutters. They are being fed. They are receiving needed care, including medical assistance,” he said.
The Haitians present the United States with a dilemma. On one hand, it does not want to let the refugees into the country for fear of triggering another wave of emigration from Haiti, the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere.
On the other, the United States is wary of repatriating refugees to Haiti at a time when it is bent on removing the military rulers who overthrew elected President Jean-Bertrand Aristide in a coup Sept. 30.
Boucher said that under a bilateral agreement with Haiti, U.S. immigration officials interview Haitians coming to the United States who are picked up at sea to determine if they can claim asylum.
The agreement is still in effect, he said, but the United States is considering whether to change its policy.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
