Legal News

Captive Migrants Asking for Release to Bury Child

By Ashby Jones

Interesting piece today in the Miami Herald, posing a question that’s certain to rile up some LBers: Should Haitian parents of a baby girl who died when their migrant boat capsized off the coast of Florida in May be allowed out of custody in order to bury the 8-month-old child? Click here for the story; here for the AP’s take.

So far, a spokeswoman from U.S. Immigration Customs and Enforcement hasn’t budged, saying the agency uses prosecutorial discretion to release people on humanitarian grounds, but ICE in this case no longer has the parents in its custody. The parents are in the US Marshals Service’s custody, she said. The U.S. attorney’s office, meanwhile, declined to comment to the Herald, citing a pending criminal matter.

The girl, named Luana, was among at least nine migrants who died around May 13 when their boat overturned and sank off of West Palm Beach. Sixteen survivors were pulled from the water. The boat’s captain and another man were charged with alien smuggling.

Luana’s parents, Chandeline Leonard and Lucsene Augustin, are being held at a jail in West Palm Beach, attorneys say. Luana’s body, they note, is in the Palm Beach County Medical Examiner’s office, awaiting burial.

At the news conference Tuesday morning, Luana’s family members conveyed the general anxiety they feel over not being able to achieve closure with a proper burial. Albert Noel, a cousin of Leonard, said he visited her two weeks ago. “She doesn’t eat — she’s so skinny,” Noel, 59, of North Miami, said as he held up his pinkie.

“They should be released to deal with the death of their little girl,” Marleine Bastien, executive director of the Haitian Women of Miami, said at a news conference in Little Haiti. “They’ve had nightmares every night.”

An editorial in the Palm Beach Post states the following:

Because of the inequities in U.S. immigration policies, Ms. Leonard and Mr. Augustin would be free if they had reached American soil from Cuba. The Cold War-era exemption for Cubans who arrive illegally would have earned them the right to stay here and give their daughter a proper burial.

Federal authorities at least should grant them a privilege given to convicted criminals. Even felons are allowed furloughs from jails and prisons to attend funerals of loved ones. The U.S. Marshal's Service, which has custody of Ms. Leonard and Mr. Augustin, should show the couple - whose only crime was seeking a better life - similar compassion.

LBers, any thoughts?

Full post as published by Law Blog - WSJ.com on August 12, 2009 (boomark / email).