Ill-fated journey challenges U.S. policies

[deadparrot]

MIAMI - The old man stood at a pay phone inside the detention center, clad in his government-issue jumpsuit and his government-issue slip-on shoes. He held the receiver in one hand, his electronic voice box in the other.

"M nan prizon," he repeated, in his Creole tongue. "I'm in prison."

His niece was saying something about a lawyer.

"We'll get you out," she promised.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060729/ap_on_re_us/the_detention_of_rev__dantica

[tocqueville]

1. so if you ask for asylum, you are thrown in jail ?

no wonder "they hate us for our freedoms"...

[Lydia Leftcoast]

2. Yes, unless you are Cuban

All asylum seekers are considered guilty until proven innocent. If they are released, they have to rely on the charity of friends or relatives, because they are forbidden to work while awaiting their final hearing.

It's a shameful system. Certainly some people try to fake political asylum, but the local immigration officials and judges have a great deal of leeway in how they treat asylum seekers. Some ports of entry are notorious for their callous treatment of detainees.

[ixion]

4. Miami being one of the most callous

I'm sure.

I lived there for two years. It's is, IMO, the most violent city in the US. I've lived all over the place, and I've never seen anything quite so hostile as Miami.

[struggle4progress]

3. kick

:kick:

[Lydia Leftcoast]

5. By the way, it sounds as if this man's niece is the noted author

Edwidge Danticat.