ad info

 
CNN.comTranscripts
 
Editions | myCNN | Video | Audio | Headline News Brief | Feedback  

 

  Search
 
 

 

TOP STORIES

Bush signs order opening 'faith-based' charity office for business

Rescues continue 4 days after devastating India earthquake

DaimlerChrysler employees join rapidly swelling ranks of laid-off U.S. workers

Disney's GO.com is a goner

(MORE)

MARKETS
4:30pm ET, 4/16
144.70
8257.60
3.71
1394.72
10.90
879.91
 


WORLD

U.S.

POLITICS

LAW

TECHNOLOGY

ENTERTAINMENT

 
TRAVEL

ARTS & STYLE



(MORE HEADLINES)
 
CNN Websites
Networks image


Morning News

Former INS General Counsel Discusses Cuban, Iraqi Immigration Dilemmas

Aired September 21, 2000 - 9:23 a.m. ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Federal agents are holding dozens of undocumented Iraqis today at the Mexican border. Immigration officials say that 45 Iraqis appeared without warning at the U.S. border near San Diego. Officials say they apparently belong to a Chaldean Christian sect and want asylum here because of religious persecution in Iraq.

Mexican authorities say they are holding other Iraqis at a Tijuana hotel.

The Cuban and Iraqi situations present U.S. authorities with two new immigration dilemmas. Joining us, now, is a man who knows all about immigration policy, Paul Virtue, a former general counsel of the INS.

Thanks for joining us.

PAUL VIRTUE, FORMER INS GENERAL COUNSEL: Good morning.

KAGAN: Good morning. It is good to have you here. First to the situation of the Cubans who are now in Florida. Will their cause, if they do indeed want to be in the U.S., will their cause be helped now that they are on U.S. soil?

VIRTUE: It certainly will. The fact that they are here means that they will most likely remain in the United States. The FBI and the INS will want to satisfy themselves on a couple of fronts, one that the people don't have criminal backgrounds already. And secondly, they, if there is a basis for prosecuting them in the United States, the FBI will want to explore that, as will the U.S. attorney's office.

But if that is not the case, then most likely they would be paroled into the United States and ultimately adjust their status.

HEMMER: When we first started reporting this story, we were calling it a hijacking, now it apparently looks like that is not what it was. Does the status of how these people left Cuba matter in deciding whether they can stay in the U.S.?

VIRTUE: It really doesn't. It will matter, in terms of whether the FBI and the U.S. Attorney's Office feel there is a basis for criminal prosecution, but in terms of their immigration status in the United States, the fact that they are now here means that they are most likely to stay here.

KAGAN: What about the drama that we watched over the last year with the whole Elian Gonzalez situation. Has that changed how Cubans are treated as they try to come to the U.S.?

VIRTUE: I don't think it is. I think that case was really treated on an individual basis. It was really unique.

KAGAN: More of a custodial case than an immigration case.

VIRTUE: It really was. It was an issue of making a determination where the boy should live. And it really hasn't had an effect on overall policy.

KAGAN: And now to the story that is taking place near Tijuana. these Iraqis who say that they would be religiously persecuted if they went back to Iraq. Is there one thing or another that is better to claim when you are trying to stay in the U.S., religious persecution, versus political persecution.

VIRTUE: Well, in order to have asylum protection in the United States, it has to be on one of the grounds that are set out in the law. And two of particular note are either political persecution or religious persecution. And apparently the claim is that this group would be persecuted on the basis of their religious beliefs.

KAGAN: But this group hasn't even yet made it into the U.S.

VIRTUE: Well, they are at the border. As I understand it, they are at the port of entry, and have asked for an asylum hearing there, which is...

KAGAN: That is where you would do that?

VIRTUE: ... something that people can do. Ordinarily, in a contiguous country, either Canada or Mexico, the people would be made to wait in that country. In this case, I suspect that INS believed that if they let them go back into Mexico unchecked, they may just turn around and try to sneak back into the United States.

KAGAN: Paul Virtue, thanks for clearing up some matters for us. We really appreciate it.

VIRTUE: Thank you.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com

 Search   


Back to the top  © 2001 Cable News Network. All Rights Reserved.
Terms under which this service is provided to you.
Read our privacy guidelines.