Illegal immigrants begin
hearings in B.C. Tuesday
WebPosted Mon
Jul 26 22:44:35 1999
VANCOUVER - Immigration hearings begin
Tuesday for the Chinese migrants found off the coast of British
Columbia last week.
Immigration officials
will decide if the 123 people, being held under close watch at
Canadian Forces Base Esquimalt, will be allowed to go free.
They were transferred into custody last Wednesday after the Coast
Guard stopped their ship, which was listing off Vancouver Island.
It's believed the group is part of a human smuggling operation.
Most of the migrants have since applied for refugee status. Under
Canadian law, refugees can only be held for seven days, but
immigration officials want to keep most of them in custody. They say
they haven't yet been able to confirm their identities.
None of the would-be immigrants had passports or other
identification documents when they were taken into custody.
The RCMP has said all 123 immigrants will be handcuffed when they
go to the hearings. They're concerned about security issues and
potential weapons found on some of the immigrants.
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