Reading:

Copyright 2004 Associated Press

All Rights Reserved

The Associated Press State & Local Wire

These materials may not be republished without the express written consent of The Associated Press

February 26, 2004, Thursday, BC cycle

SECTION: State and Regional

LENGTH: 709 words

HEADLINE: Coast Guard has more than 500 Haitians in custody

BYLINE: By RACHEL LA CORTE, Associated Press Writer

DATELINE: MIAMI

BODY:

The number of Haitians fleeing the deadly uprising in their homeland has escalated, with the Coast Guard saying it has intercepted 546 people at sea over the past three to four days, but officials said the increase doesn't signal a mass exodus.

The Haitians were in about a dozen small boats picked up within 50 miles of their country's shore, Coast Guard spokesman Luis Diaz said, bringing the total number of immigrants intercepted this month to 694. They were taken aboard Coast Guard cutters to receive food and water, Diaz said.

"I don't consider that an exodus," Diaz said, adding the current situation doesn't compare with a tumultuous period in Haiti during the early 1990s where up to 3,000 migrants would be found daily.

Federal officials would not disclose if the immigrants were being returned to Haiti. On Wednesday, President Bush repeated the government's policy to turn back any Haitian migrant trying to reach U.S. shores.

U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek, a Florida Democrat whose Miami-area district includes a large number of Haitian-Americans, asked Congress to grant Temporary Protected Status for Haitian nationals already in the United States and in danger of being sent home to a country in violent turmoil.

Many Haitian-Americans and immigrant advocates fear the bloodletting in Haiti will lead to another mass exodus to Florida.

"I think it's reasonable to expect greater numbers in the coming days and weeks," said Cheryl Little, head of the Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center.

Authorities on Thursday were interviewing nearly two dozen Haitians on a ship the Coast Guard intercepted off the Florida coast, trying to determine whether the vessel was hijacked and if the immigrants should be returned home.

The freighter, carrying 21 Haitians and seven Filipino crew members, was stopped about seven miles off Miami Beach on Wednesday. Officials would not say if the Haitians had requested asylum.

Three shotguns and a handgun were turned over to U.S. officials before they boarded the 200-foot vessel without resistance. If evidence shows the Haitians hijacked the ship, they could be brought ashore and arrested on federal charges.

Florida Gov. Jeb Bush on Thursday referred to the case as a hijacking.

"Unless they have a well-founded fear of persecution that is specific and meets the criteria of our laws, they should be sent back," he said.

The freighter's last port of call was Gonaives, Haiti's fourth-largest city and the place where rebels began an uprising Feb. 5.

Late Thursday, at a news conference at Miami International Airport, a bipartisan congressional group joined Meek in calling for special protection for Haitians already here and in danger of being sent home. It would apply to students and workers on visas that are about to expire, and to would-be immigrants subject to deportation as they lose asylum appeals.

"We have differences with regard to many issues, but on the issue of the appropriateness of temporary protected status for those people who have fled and are in the United States ... we are united," said U.S. Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart, R-Fla., joining Meek along with his GOP congressman brother, Mario Diaz-Balart.

Rep. Eleanor Holmes-Norton of Washington also was with the group, which included lawmakers from Texas, Mississippi and the U.S. Virgin Islands, plus part of the Florida delegation.

"Here you see standing before you Republicans and Democrats, asking for the same thing," Holmes-Norton said.

Meek was less certain about the fate of Haitians being held at sea, and said the instability in Haiti will make repatriation difficult.

"The last thing we need is for the Coast Guard to be taking Haitians back to Haiti ... and watch those individuals be slaughtered," he said.

Earlier Thursday, a dozen leaders of Miami's Haitian-American community, including state lawmakers, held a news conference to make the same request, as did the Congressional Black Caucus on Wednesday in Washington.

"You cannot send people to a country that's dysfunctional," state Rep. Phillip Brutus said Thursday.

Under Haiti's military dictatorship between 1991 and 1994, more than 65,000 Haitians were intercepted at sea by the Coast Guard. Most were sent home.

GRAPHIC: AP Photos JPC101-02

LOAD-DATE: February 27, 2004