Haitian's death brings under question Florida's immigration procedures

When Joseph Dantica visited the United States in August, a trip he had made dozens of times in the past two decades, his friends told him he shouldn't go home. It was too dangerous in Haiti, they said. He would die. But Dantica returned and soon realized that his life truly was in danger. He got out only after hiding several days and dressing up as a woman. But it wasn't until he reached the supposedly safe shores of South Florida that the pastor died. As he flew into Miami International Airport, he said he might be staying a bit longer, maybe seeking temporary asylum. With those magic words, he was whisked off to Krome Detention Center, starting a disputed series of events that ended with his death, handcuffed to a hospital bed. His family said Dantica -- 81 years old and never in trouble -- should not have been taken to a prison to await word on his asylum request, and was grossly mistreated when he got there, resulting in his death. While their country is in turmoil and Haitians are begging U.S. officials to grant them safe harbor until the fighting stops, the requests land them in Krome and typically end in deportation. Compounding the problem, local Haitians say, is that the government has chosen this time to crack down on Haitians illegally living in the United States. [more] and [more]