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Smugglers Charged With Aiding Haitian Migrants
Aired October 30, 2002 - 14:02 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN ANCHOR: Yesterday' dramatic dash for shore off of the Florida coast is quickly becoming a hot political issue. Governor Jeb Bush and his Democratic opponent Bill McBride both say the 200 or so Haitians should be treated like any other people from any other country.
CNN's Susan Candiotti joins us now from Miami with more on the fallout of the run to freedom -- Susan.
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Martin.
Well, actually, we also have some breaking news for you, because it's also becoming a hot criminal issue as well.
CNN correspondent Mark Potter has just learned that six people have now been charged, apparently with attempting to smuggle these Haitian migrants into the United States. Mark Potter is down at the federal courthouse and the U.S. attorney's office, and hopes to bring us additional details as soon as they are available.
Meantime, demonstrations continue this day in Miami, as they did yesterday, and more are scheduled for this afternoon, as supporters of these Haitian migrants, who are arguing for equal treatment of them, continue to protest their treatment here in the United States so far. This, following very stunning pictures, but not unfamiliar to those who live in south Florida, of this latest arrival of Haitian migrants to the United States.
More than 200 of them jammed onto an overcrowded, 50-foot wooden boat, landing in Miami's Key Biscayne. Some argue that these Haitians should be treated like Cuban migrants; that is, to allow them to be paroled into the United States and then make their cases for political asylum.
Right now, as it is, for the most part, these Haitian migrants do not have the opportunity, their supporters say, to hire lawyers to represent them to try to fight their case in a U.S. court.
Now, today, a Democratic congresswoman, Carrie Meek, confronted Republican incumbent Governor Jeb Bush about this, asking him to take advantage of his family ties to try to fight and try to change U.S. immigration policy. She was asking him for help.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. CARRIE MEEK (D), FLORIDA: I came to ask you if you would call your brother and ask him to call INS to release the Haitians that are in detention. They don't need any new policy. All they have to do is call. The wet-foot/dry-foot policy will take effect. Those Haitians are standing on dry land. My blood has been (UNINTELLIGIBLE), Mr. Governor. I love them.
GOV. JEB BUSH (R), FLORIDA: I respect your position.
MEEK: Please call him, Governor.
QUESTION: I have a question...
MEEK: Call him, Governor, and ask him to please...
BUSH: Thank you.
MEEK: You can do it. We can't do it. Congress can't do it. We've tried our best. We can't do it. If you call him...
BUSH: Carrie, you know that we've worked together in 1998 to change the immigration laws, with your leadership. That occurred to provide for more just treatment of Haitians.
My position is, as I've stated, if people have a well-founded fear of persecution, they should be allowed into the community, out of Chrome, and they should be able to pursue those remedies through administrative support.
MEEK: Tell your brother they can be released right now. They can.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CANDIOTTI: The problem is, again, the supporters of these Haitian migrants who are currently at this facility that are you seeing now, called the Chrome Detention Center. The problem, according to their supporters, is that they don't have the opportunity, being there, to hire lawyers to try to argue their case before an immigration judge.
As it is, they will be interviewed by U.S. immigration officials there at the Chrome Detention Center. But if they cannot make their case that they are seeking political asylum, then they will be sent directly back to Haiti. Back to you, Martin.
SAVIDGE: Susan Candiotti, thank you very much. We want to follow up with what Susan started at the beginning, and that is about the criminal element possibly in this investigation regarding the Haitians. And we've got Mark Potter joining us now -- Mark.
MARK POTTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good afternoon. I'm at the Miami federal courthouse in the downtown area, where we just finished an initial appearance for six men, apparently Haitian men, who have been charged with alien smuggling -- conspiracy and alien smuggling -- in connection with the boat that arrived yesterday.
They have not yet been indicted by a grand jury. That process could follow. But they have been charged and are now going through the court process. We will be hearing some more details on this shortly. The U.S. attorney's office, which is handling the case, is expected to hand out some paperwork in a few moments. And the U.S. attorney himself may come out to talk.
The six men were sitting in the jury box in the magistrate's court. They had the judge, the magistrate, William Turnoff, ask them some questions about their background. They were all wearing tan jail jumpsuits.
They were handcuffed together and asked if any of them had made $10,000 a year, U.S.? No. Do you own a house -- no. Do you own a car -- no. Do you have money in the bank or real estate -- no.
Then the judge said, I would normally ask you if you owned a boat, but this time I'm not going to do that. And there was a chuckle in the courtroom. The hearing didn't last very long.
But the INS told us this morning that, indeed, this is a criminal case now. And now we know what it has led to. At least six people now charged with alien smuggling in connection with that vessel.
So there will be more hearings in the future to deal with issues of bond. A preliminary hearing, and we'll wait and see if a grand jury indicts them. That is anticipated, but that hasn't happened at this time yet.
But so far, six men arrested, charged with alien smuggling in connection with the boat load that came in. And, again, it is now a criminal investigation. The material witnesses are also being held, we are told, but we don't have details on that. Back to you.
SAVIDGE: Mark, where were these men found? Were they onboard that vessel yesterday?
POTTER: They were probably all rounded up off the vessel. That's one of the difficulties with these smuggling cases. Because when the boat comes in, the smugglers jump off with the passengers and it's hard to tell who's who. Somehow, they were able to pull that together and at least come up with these charges.
Again, the men are charged. We'll have to see what happens as it goes to trial. They have been appointed lawyers. They can't afford them on their own. And so the process begins.
I don't know your answer, but I suspect, given what happened yesterday, that they were discovered on land, on the Causeway, when the police sealed it off and grabbed up everybody.
SAVIDGE: All right, Mark Potter joining us on the telephone with breaking news regarding the Haitian scramble of yesterday.
Aired October 30, 2002 - 14:02 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN ANCHOR: Yesterday' dramatic dash for shore off of the Florida coast is quickly becoming a hot political issue. Governor Jeb Bush and his Democratic opponent Bill McBride both say the 200 or so Haitians should be treated like any other people from any other country.
CNN's Susan Candiotti joins us now from Miami with more on the fallout of the run to freedom -- Susan.
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Martin.
Well, actually, we also have some breaking news for you, because it's also becoming a hot criminal issue as well.
CNN correspondent Mark Potter has just learned that six people have now been charged, apparently with attempting to smuggle these Haitian migrants into the United States. Mark Potter is down at the federal courthouse and the U.S. attorney's office, and hopes to bring us additional details as soon as they are available.
Meantime, demonstrations continue this day in Miami, as they did yesterday, and more are scheduled for this afternoon, as supporters of these Haitian migrants, who are arguing for equal treatment of them, continue to protest their treatment here in the United States so far. This, following very stunning pictures, but not unfamiliar to those who live in south Florida, of this latest arrival of Haitian migrants to the United States.
More than 200 of them jammed onto an overcrowded, 50-foot wooden boat, landing in Miami's Key Biscayne. Some argue that these Haitians should be treated like Cuban migrants; that is, to allow them to be paroled into the United States and then make their cases for political asylum.
Right now, as it is, for the most part, these Haitian migrants do not have the opportunity, their supporters say, to hire lawyers to represent them to try to fight their case in a U.S. court.
Now, today, a Democratic congresswoman, Carrie Meek, confronted Republican incumbent Governor Jeb Bush about this, asking him to take advantage of his family ties to try to fight and try to change U.S. immigration policy. She was asking him for help.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. CARRIE MEEK (D), FLORIDA: I came to ask you if you would call your brother and ask him to call INS to release the Haitians that are in detention. They don't need any new policy. All they have to do is call. The wet-foot/dry-foot policy will take effect. Those Haitians are standing on dry land. My blood has been (UNINTELLIGIBLE), Mr. Governor. I love them.
GOV. JEB BUSH (R), FLORIDA: I respect your position.
MEEK: Please call him, Governor.
QUESTION: I have a question...
MEEK: Call him, Governor, and ask him to please...
BUSH: Thank you.
MEEK: You can do it. We can't do it. Congress can't do it. We've tried our best. We can't do it. If you call him...
BUSH: Carrie, you know that we've worked together in 1998 to change the immigration laws, with your leadership. That occurred to provide for more just treatment of Haitians.
My position is, as I've stated, if people have a well-founded fear of persecution, they should be allowed into the community, out of Chrome, and they should be able to pursue those remedies through administrative support.
MEEK: Tell your brother they can be released right now. They can.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CANDIOTTI: The problem is, again, the supporters of these Haitian migrants who are currently at this facility that are you seeing now, called the Chrome Detention Center. The problem, according to their supporters, is that they don't have the opportunity, being there, to hire lawyers to try to argue their case before an immigration judge.
As it is, they will be interviewed by U.S. immigration officials there at the Chrome Detention Center. But if they cannot make their case that they are seeking political asylum, then they will be sent directly back to Haiti. Back to you, Martin.
SAVIDGE: Susan Candiotti, thank you very much. We want to follow up with what Susan started at the beginning, and that is about the criminal element possibly in this investigation regarding the Haitians. And we've got Mark Potter joining us now -- Mark.
MARK POTTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good afternoon. I'm at the Miami federal courthouse in the downtown area, where we just finished an initial appearance for six men, apparently Haitian men, who have been charged with alien smuggling -- conspiracy and alien smuggling -- in connection with the boat that arrived yesterday.
They have not yet been indicted by a grand jury. That process could follow. But they have been charged and are now going through the court process. We will be hearing some more details on this shortly. The U.S. attorney's office, which is handling the case, is expected to hand out some paperwork in a few moments. And the U.S. attorney himself may come out to talk.
The six men were sitting in the jury box in the magistrate's court. They had the judge, the magistrate, William Turnoff, ask them some questions about their background. They were all wearing tan jail jumpsuits.
They were handcuffed together and asked if any of them had made $10,000 a year, U.S.? No. Do you own a house -- no. Do you own a car -- no. Do you have money in the bank or real estate -- no.
Then the judge said, I would normally ask you if you owned a boat, but this time I'm not going to do that. And there was a chuckle in the courtroom. The hearing didn't last very long.
But the INS told us this morning that, indeed, this is a criminal case now. And now we know what it has led to. At least six people now charged with alien smuggling in connection with that vessel.
So there will be more hearings in the future to deal with issues of bond. A preliminary hearing, and we'll wait and see if a grand jury indicts them. That is anticipated, but that hasn't happened at this time yet.
But so far, six men arrested, charged with alien smuggling in connection with the boat load that came in. And, again, it is now a criminal investigation. The material witnesses are also being held, we are told, but we don't have details on that. Back to you.
SAVIDGE: Mark, where were these men found? Were they onboard that vessel yesterday?
POTTER: They were probably all rounded up off the vessel. That's one of the difficulties with these smuggling cases. Because when the boat comes in, the smugglers jump off with the passengers and it's hard to tell who's who. Somehow, they were able to pull that together and at least come up with these charges.
Again, the men are charged. We'll have to see what happens as it goes to trial. They have been appointed lawyers. They can't afford them on their own. And so the process begins.
I don't know your answer, but I suspect, given what happened yesterday, that they were discovered on land, on the Causeway, when the police sealed it off and grabbed up everybody.
SAVIDGE: All right, Mark Potter joining us on the telephone with breaking news regarding the Haitian scramble of yesterday.
