US Deports 19 Convicted Criminals To Haiti
MIAMI (CBS4) -Immigration authorities have repatriated 19 Haitians previously convicted of crimes in the U.S.
It's the second such group of deportees since the devastating January 2010 earthquake in Haiti. The U.S. resumed deportations to Haiti on Jan. 20, sending back 26 Haitians convicted of a crime and one acquitted in a 2007 terror plot but still deemed a national security threat.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement says all 19 Haitians deported Friday had been convicted of at least one serious felony offense.
One of the men deported in January died after suffering cholera-like symptoms in a Haitian jail. Wildrick Guerrier, 34, was among the first group sent back to Haiti from the U.S. since last year's earthquake.
Immigration advocates, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and prominent Roman Catholic bishops say conditions in the struggling Caribbean country make it inhumane to deport people there.
In February, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights urged the United States to stop deporting Haitians who are seriously ill or who have family members in this country.
In a statement, the Washington-based commission said deporting sick Haitians could jeopardize their lives because of the unhealthy conditions in the Haitian jails where they would be detained after arriving.
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