Monday, July 26,
1999 Marathon hearings begin for boat
migrants
Board will hear up to five cases
simultaneously
Chad Skelton
The Vancouver
Sun
VANCOUVER - The 123 illegal migrants who arrived in British
Columbia last week could be released from detention tomorrow as a
marathon series of immigration hearings begins.
Under the Immigration Act, refugee claimants are entitled to a
detention review in front of an independent adjudicator of the
Immigration and Refugee Board seven days after arrest. At that
review, immigration officials can seek to have the migrants detained
for another seven days.
Lois Reimer, a spokeswoman for Immigration Canada, said the
department concluded its preliminary interviews with the migrants on
Saturday with the assistance of a team of 11 interpreters and is now
making arrangements to begin the detention review hearings.
Given the sheer volume of people involved, Ms. Reimer said the
immigration board will likely conduct as many as five hearings
simultaneously. And because many of the issues facing the migrants
are similar, Ms. Reimer said the adjudicators could rule on several
cases at once.
Ms. Reimer said the "vast majority" of the migrants, who arrived
last Tuesday on a dilapidated fishing boat, have now claimed refugee
status.
Carolyn McCool, a Vancouver immigration lawyer, is leading a team
of six lawyers who will represent the Chinese migrants -- with the
bill likely to be picked up by legal aid. Ms. McCool has said that
she will seek the release of the refugee claimants until their cases
can be heard.
Refugee determination hearings, including appeals, can last up to
two years -- with an average length of about 11 months. During that
time, refugee claimants can apply for social assistance and health
benefits.
In January, Lucienne Robillard, the minister of immigration,
released a policy paper calling for the three branches of the
immigration board to be folded into one and to restrict the number
of available appeals to reduce the time it takes to make a
definitive refugee determination.
Since last week, the Asian migrants have been staying in the
gymnasium at the Esquimalt naval base, which was converted into a
detention facility with cots and a barbed wire fence. About 35 RCMP
officers are guarding the facility.
Statistics provided by the immigration board show that the vast
majority of Chinese refugee claimants who enter Canada illegally
through B.C. abandon their claims and can't be found. Last year, the
board in Vancouver cleared 602 cases involving Chinese refugee
claimants. They allowed 63 claims and rejected 95 -- but 426 (70.8
%) either didn't show up for their hearings or were unreachable.
While the immigration process continues, a criminal investigation
is also underway. Police are still trying to determine who was in
charge of the scheme that brought the migrants to Canada in the
filthy cargo hold of a decrepit ship for a charge of $38,000 each.
The RCMP have now identified 19 people they believe may have been
involved in the smuggling operation. They are being segregated from
the others.
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