02-19-1997

NATIONAL BRIEFING - IMMIGRATION: CHINESE GOLDEN VENTURE REFUGEES PAROLED

 
      The Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) has decided
 to "parole from detention" the remaining 53 Chinese refugees from
 the Golden Venture ship being held as illegal aliens.  The Golden
 Venture arrived in New York Harbor in 6/93 with 282 Chinese
 passengers "nearly all" of whom requested political asylum
 because of "forced abortion or sterilization" in China.  The
 requests were "blocked" by an Administration decision to "reject"
 abortion and sterilization "as adequate grounds for granting
 asylum".  More than 100 of the refugees emigrated to other
 countries or have been deported (W. TIMES, 2/15).  
      INS STATEMENTS:  An INS spokesperson said on 2/14 there was
 no word whether any of the 53 remaining refugees had been
 released.  In a statement, the agency said it "will parole the
 detainees upon completion of appropriate release arrangements for
 each individual.  This process is expected to be concluded by"
 3/1.  The statement said the Golden Venture migrants "will remain
 in immigration proceedings and will be subject to the
 determinations of the immigration courts."  The INS on 2/14
 "defended" its policy, saying "detaining smuggled aliens has
 deterred smuggling by organized criminal syndicates."  INS: "The
 newly enacted immigration bill's provisions that permit the
 expeditious exclusion of smuggled aliens has significantly
 strengthened our ability to deter alien smuggling.  Under these
 circumstances, and weighed against the exceptional and unusual
 length of detention of the Golden Venture migrants, the
 administration has concluded that their parole from detention is
 appropriate" (W. TIMES, 2/15).  
      REAX:  Pro-life Rep. Bill Goodling (R-PA): "At last, justice
 has been served."  Life Coalition Int'l's Wendy Wright "noted"
 that the INS statement referred only to the Golden Venture
 refugees and does not mention Chinese women jailed in CA: "Many
 of these women were not on the Golden Venture.  But they meet all
 the same [INS] qualifications. ... We don't know if they'll be
 left in jail and forgotten about" (W. TIMES, 2/15).
 
 



The Abortion Report