89 asylum-seekers from China sent to US

At least 89 asylum-seekers, who were passengers of the fishing vessels intercepted by federal and local authorities, have been sent to mainland U.S. for “possible further processing,” according to a court document.

The 89 were among the 537 undocumented aliens from China who were held in the “tent city” on Tinian.

Those detained were crewmen and passengers of five boats, which were intercepted by Coast Guard on separate occasions in April and May of this year.

According to the US Attorney’s Office, over 50 representatives from the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service and the Bureau of Prisons were sent to Tinian “to guard and interview the detainees, and determine, who, if any, might qualify for possible asylum under the United Nations guidelines.”

At least 30 have been charged with alien smuggling and attempted alien smuggling in connection with these aborted trips to Guam, while 19 have been detained as material witnesses for prosecution.

The temporary shelter for Chinese illegals was shutdown last June 21.

“A majority of its occupants were repatriated to China and some, who had been screened by the INS as potential asylum applicants, were sent to the mainland for possible further processing,” the US Attorney’s Office stated in the document called “US Opposition to Dismissal Based on Witness Repatriation.”

The document was filed in response to a defendant’s motion to dismiss indictment. (See related story on Page 3)

It was reported that the aliens paid human smugglers between $5,000 and $10,000 to be transported to Guam, where they hoped to avail themselves of political asylum and employment in the underground economy.

“Some of the previous vessels had deposited their human cargo on Guam undetected, while many others were apprehended, so many that the Guam jails and detention facilities were full to overflowing,” the US Attorney’s Office said.

The U.S. State Department ordered earlier this year that the boat passengers be diverted to Tinian.

There were earlier speculations that the move to send the aliens to a US territory, which controls its own immigration and where asylum is not available, was meant to limit the chances of granting asylum to the citizens of the communist country.