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By Lyssa Graham. Special To The Herald. Posted on Fri, Jul.
26, 2002 in The Miami Herald
CHARLOTTE AMALIE, U.S. Virgin Islands - Court records in this U.S. territory
show that at least 60 Cuban migrants have arrived here since April as smugglers
apparently try to open a new route to get to the United States.
At more than 1,200 miles from Havana, the U.S. Virgin Islands would seem an
unlikely destination for immigrants determined to reach America. However,
investigators suspect some smugglers prefer the longer route rather than risk
interception on the heavily patrolled and more commonly used Cuba-to-Florida
Keys run.
''INS has a presence in the Virgin Islands, but it has no active patrol per
se,'' said Leslie Lawson, a supervising agent with the U.S. Border Patrol sector
in neighboring Puerto Rico, which is in charge of the region. "They are
using that route because they can't be detected as easily.''
RECENT PATTERN
Thurston McKelvin, a federal public defender in St. Thomas, said the unusual
influx of Cuban nationals has become more apparent "within the last 60 to
90 days.''
''I can't quite say that it is a trend that will be continued, and I offer
absolutely no explanation as to why, in recent times, we have gotten so many
undocumented Cuban persons coming into the U.S. Virgin Islands,'' McKelvin said.
Prior to the recent cases, McKelvin said he could only one Cuban
national charged with illegal entry into the U.S. Virgin Islands in more than a
decade. He said the immigrants entering the territory appear to be doing so in
small groups.
''It seems to be a drop-off thing,'' McKelvin said, "No boats have been
caught.''
Law enforcement officials said smugglers have been using Caribbean
territories to smuggle migrants for years, ''but what's changing is
nationality,'' said Antonio Solis, a lead intelligence agent for the Border
Patrol. "We're seeing more Cubans at this point. It's a steady increase.''
Solis said that in many of the cases, Cubans will fly from their homeland to
the Dutch-owned St. Maarten. There, they pay smugglers between $700 and $1,000
to get them to the U.S. Virgin Islands.
''It's nothing secret,'' said U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Services
spokesman Iván Ortiz-Delgado, also based in Puerto Rico. "There are
smuggling organizations involved in smuggling Cubans into the U.S. They use
different routes. They are very well organized organizations. When they detect
that federal authorities are targeting specific routes they use alternate routes
and the U.S. Virgin Islands are one of them.''
Cuban nationals arriving at U.S.-controlled islands fall under the Cuban
Adjustment Act in the same manner as if they were to land on U.S. mainland
shores. That law grants those who make it to U.S. soil the right to apply for
permanent residency.
''Reaching the U.S. Virgin Islands is just like reaching Florida as far as
[the INS] is concerned,'' Ortiz-Delgado said.
TOUGH TO PATROL
St. Thomas and two other neighboring islands -- St. John and St. Croix --
are considered an open and free border of the United States. Together, they
comprise about 200 miles by land and surrounding water.
All of these factors create problems for INS officers attempting to
interdict undocumented immigrants.
''It is difficult to patrol any island,'' Ortiz-Delgado said, "It
doesn't matter what size it is.''
Most of the immigrants reaching the territory in the last few months have
turned themselves in. Virtually all have been released, primarily to relatives
in South Florida.
Some, however, are taking a different tack. A group of five men and four
women were apprehended May 5 as they attempted to enter the U.S. Virgin Islands
by way of a ferry boat from neighboring Tortola in the British Virgin Islands.
All of the immigrants in the group were carrying false Spanish ports --
ports that failed to inspection by immigration officials. of
that group have claimed that they were following instructions broadcast on Radio
Martí.
Puerto Rico also has been used recently to smuggle Cuban nationals.
In a couple of cases, Cubans told authorities that they flew from their
homeland to Haiti and paid to be sneaked across the border into the Dominican
Republic. Once there, they boarded smuggling vessels known as yolas headed to
Puerto Rico.
About a dozen Cubans have reached Puerto Rico by sea so far this year,
officials said.
Meanwhile, officials in Mexico City have begun talks with Cuban authorities
on repatriating Cuban nationals who also have arrived in Mexico aboard rafts or
boats in recent months, according to media reports.
Mexican officials did not release details on the number of Cubans illegally
entering by sea, but it has raised enough concern to merit formal discussions
with the Cuban government.
''The use of sea routes in inadequate craft is a risk that could become
fatal, so the authorities of the two countries will try to avoid it with
firmness and a spirit of collaboration,'' said a recent statement issued by
Mexico's Interior Department.
Herald staff writer Nancy San Martin contributed to this report. | 
