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More illegal immigrants arrive on Tinian
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Posted on May 11 1999
Eighty-four more undocumented Chinese immigrants caught after attempting to enter Guam illegally were brought to Tinian over the weekend, bringing to almost 500 the number of illegals temporarily sheltered in a “tent city”, or nearly half of the island municipality’s population.
According to Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio, the Chinese illegals arrived on Tinian Saturday after the boat carrying them was interdicted by the US Coast Guard as it headed toward the neighboring island.
However, the governor said the arrival of the new batch of Chinese nationals, the fourth since early last month, will have to be reassessed to determine if the temporary holding area on Tinian remains fit to house the illegal immigrants.
“We accepted the new batch but we are assessing the tent city because of the limited facility at the tent city,” Tenorio said. “We want to make sure that we will be able to provide them with what they need.”
The growing number of illegals, believed to be victims of human smuggling, has worried local officials because of potential health and security risks their presence may pose to the community.
According to Tenorio, he was assured by the US Immigration and Naturalization Service that repatriation of these nationals will begin soon in order to avoid possible overcrowding problem.
