The United States Imprisons Dozens of Haitian Survivors

Published in Juventud Rebelde
(Cuba) on 1 April 2010
by Juventud Rebelde Staff (link to originallink to original)
Translated from by Gloria Galindo. Edited by Laura Berlinsky-Schine.
The United States has detained 30 Haitians, and since this Wednesday they are being held in Florida. The group managed to survive the earthquake of January 12th, and came to this country in a Navy aircraft, reported "Prensa Latina." They were arrested just as they stepped on American soil for not having visas, and have been detained for over two months without receiving any specialized care, according to the "New York Times."

Many of the Haitian prisoners were at the airport in Port-au-Prince in search of food, security or medical assistance, when U.S. military aircraft began evacuating staff after the earthquake. U.S. authorities brought them into federal custody just as they arrived in the country, but they cannot send them back to their country, because of the of the White House order to suspend deportations to Haiti, according to the newspaper.

The immigration system refused to grant the request of relatives of prisoners who want to take care of them, or the request a national psychotherapist who offered to assist them in the prison, he says. A government spokesman told the newspaper that the 30 Haitians had an open file, and that another 35 arrived and are being detained in various prisons around the country waiting to be processed.



El sistema de inmigración de Estados Unidos mantiene presos este miércoles en la Florida a una treintena de haitianos que logró sobrevivir al sismo del pasado 12 de enero y llegar a este país en aviones de la Marina, informa Prensa Latina.

Los inmigrantes fueron arrestados apenas pisaron suelo norteamericano por carecer de visas y llevan más de dos meses de confinamiento sin recibir atención especializada, refiere el diario The New York Times.

Muchos de los haitianos presos estaban en el aeropuerto de Puerto Príncipe en busca de comida, seguridad o asistencia médica cuando los aviones del Ejército norteamericano comenzaron a evacuar personal después del terremoto.

Las autoridades estadounidenses los pusieron bajo custodia federal apenas llegaron al país, pero no los pueden enviar de regreso a su patria debido a la orden de la Casa Blanca de suspender las deportaciones hacia Haití, refiere el rotativo.

El sistema de inmigración se negó a aceptar la solicitud de familiares de los presos que desean hacerse cargo de ellos, o el pedido de un psicoterapeuta nacional que se ofreció a darles asistencia en el reclusorio, acota.

Un portavoz del gobierno reconoció al diario que los 30 haitianos tienen abierto un expediente, y otros 35 llegados con posterioridad están detenidos en distintas cárceles alrededor del país en espera de ser procesados.
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