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Sharpton urges asylum for Haitian detainees
©Associated Press
November 3, 2002
MIAMI -- The Rev. Al Sharpton on Saturday called the treatment of more than 200 Haitian migrants detained in South Florida a "moral outrage" and pledged to organize rallies and marches to demand their release.
A boat carrying more than 200 Haitians reached Florida shores last week. Dozens of men, women and children on board the wooden freighter plunged into shallow waters and scrambled onto a major highway.
"We are here because we think it is a moral outrage, what occurred off the shore of Miami last week," Sharpton said.
Unlike Cubans who reach dry land, Haitian immigrants usually are denied asylum in the United States and sent back to their homeland.
The Bush administration's policy on Haitians was disclosed after a boat carrying 187 Haitian refugees ran aground off Elliot Key in December 2001. Most of those migrants still are detained.
According to the National Coalition for Haitian Rights, more than 90 percent of the those detainees have been denied asylum and face deportation.
"This is about an administration that has talked out of both sides of its mouth: open door for some, closed door for Haitians," Sharpton said. "There is no good reason for a separate policy."
Sharpton said he will return to the Krome Detention Center in western Miami-Dade County today to meet with immigration officials and try to see the migrants.
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