The Nation - News from Oct. 5, 1988

The House refused to give Cubans who came to the United States during the 1980 Mariel boat lift greater opportunity to argue their cases for release from detention while awaiting a decision on possible deportation. The bill was rejected on a 144-271 vote. The measure was an outgrowth of last November’s riots at federal prisons in Atlanta and Oakdale, La., where about 2,500 Cubans, suspected of being criminals, are detained. The Administration began a review program to determine which detainees should be released or returned to Cuba, but the plan was criticized for lack of adequate due process. The House bill would have given detainees the right to a lawyer during hearings before an administrative law judge, allow for witnesses and place on the government the burden of proving the individual should be detained.