111 Haitian Refugees Held at Guantanamo Admitted to U.S.

A group of 111 Haitian boat people, including 75 children, was flown to the United States on Monday, ending an 11-month stay in refugee camps at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

The refugees were admitted for humanitarian reasons as officials empty the last of the Haitians from the tent encampments at the U.S. naval base.

Some of the children were to be taken in by family members and others will be put in foster homes, officials said.

“These are children for which family couldn’t be found in Haiti,” said U.S. Army Sgt. Terry Webster, a spokesman for the military task force running the Guantanamo camps.

Webster said 210 Haitians remain at the base, including 48 unaccompanied children. Another flight to Miami was scheduled for Thursday but it was unclear how many of the remaining refugees would be aboard the plane.

The refugees were among more than 40,000 Haitians and Cubans who were rescued in Caribbean waters last summer.

Some of the unaccompanied children who fled Haiti have been returned there, sparking outrage among refugee advocates who say the U.S. government made serious mistakes. As an example, they say a 12-year-old boy was returned to Haiti even though his mother, who lives in Miami, wanted to take him in.