Haitian refugees shifted to ease crowding in Miami

July 20, 1981

Almost 300 Haitian refugees were flown from Miami to other detention centers, to try to ease problems caused by overcrowding at the Krome Avenue camp. Immigration and Naturalization Service officials said the Haitians were to be transferred to an INS center in Brooklyn, N.Y.; prisons in Big Spring, Texas and Lake Placid, N.Y.; and to Morgantown, W.Va.

The Krome Avenue camp houses 1,600 illegal immigrants, three times its theortical capacity.

The move came too late to satisfy Gov. Bob Graham, who filed suit in federal court, demanding drastic measures to ease the burden on Florida taxpayers. After assimilating 125,000 Cuban refugees during last year's "freedom boatlift," Florida is now struggling to cope with an estimated 40,000 Haitians. More continue to arrive at an average of over 300 a week.