THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

STATEMENT BY THE PRESS SECRETARY

Release from Detention of Golden Venture Detainees

The Administration today decided to parole from detention the remaining 53 Chinese nationals who arrived on the Golden Venture in 1993. The Immigration and Naturalization Service will parole the detainees upon completion of appropriate release arrangements for each individual. This process is expected to be concluded by March 1, 1997. The Golden Venture migrants will remain in immigration proceedings and will be subject to the determinations of the immigration courts.

The Administration's policy of detaining smuggled aliens has deterred smuggling by organized criminal syndicates, resulting in a sharp decrease in the number of alien smuggling vessels that have reached U.S. shores. Moreover, the newly enacted immigration bill's provisions that permit the expeditious exclusion of smuggled aliens has significantly strengthened our ability to deter alien smuggling. Under these circumstances, and weighed against the exceptional and unusual length of detention of the Golden Venture migrants, the Administration has concluded that their parole from detention is appropriate.

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