WORLD NATIONAL SPORTS BUSINESS ENTERTAINMENT
Migrant detention reviews wrap up
TERRI THEODORE
VANCOUVER (CP) - All but eight teens among a group
of 123 illegal Chinese immigrants will have to spend another week in
custody.
By Friday afternoon Immigration and Refugee Board
adjudicators had ruled that 115 refugee claimants were to be
detained further to give officials more time to determine their
identities.
The board will review the detention orders within
seven days.
The eight teenaged boys between the ages of 14 and 17 were
released into the custody of provincial social workers Wednesday.
On Thursday authorities transferred 19 migrants suspected of
being involved in the human smuggling operation to the Vancouver
Pretrial Centre. The rest remained at Canadian Forces Base Esquimalt
under the watchful eyes of RCMP guards.
The mood of the rest of the refugee claimants has improved since
the suspected smugglers were moved, officials said.
"Everyone seems to be calm, at ease, relaxed," Immigration
spokeswoman Lorna Tessier said Friday as detention hearings for
migrants wrapped up.
The would-be refugees had been held at the suburban Victoria
military base since July 21.
Their dilapidated ship was found listing off the rugged west
coast of Vancouver Island the day before.
Police and Immigration officials suspect the human smuggling
operation may be linked to organized crime groups.
They said they believe the 19 segregated from the group were
suspected crew members and "enforcers."
All 19 - three minors among them - will remain in the Vancouver
jail unless the Immigration and Refugee Board adjudicator decides
they should be released.
The jail is "definitely a more secure facility than the
gymnasium," where the others are still being kept, said Immigration
spokesman Rob Johnston.
Officials said there was a lot of fear among the general
population of migrants, some of whom paid up to $38,000 US for
transport across the ocean in the precarious vessel.
Immigration officials expected to finish up detention reviews for
the refugee claimants Friday.
They sought to have all but a group of teenage boys kept in
custody for another seven days because they were unsure of their
identities. The law requires another review after that.
Eight teens aged 14 to 17 were released to the custody of the
provincial Ministry of Children and Families.
Immigration officers have been working by telephone with
officials in China to establish the identities of the refugee
claimants.
If authorities are satisfied with the identities, they can seek
further detention if they believe the person poses a risk to public
safety or might not show up for future immigration proceedings.
Tessier said no criminal records have yet been discovered.
© The Canadian Press, 1999
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