f*. THE ISLANDS' NEWSPAPLR Or RECORD 1* \\-** WEEK OF J U LY 28 - AuG U ST 3, 2005 VOLUME 32 NUMBER 31 "24 PAGES';. • ;?5;;CEN?S': Cuban refugees come ashore on Sanibel By JENNY BURNHAM Sanibel, Tomlinson added. Miami, he said.
[email protected] The construction workers called the Sanibel Police, Once the refugees are in detention, authorities will con- who summoned the U.S. Coast Guard. By noon Tuesday, duct a medical evaluation of the individuals in the group to Construction workers discovered 19 refugees from the U. S. Border Patrol and U.S. Immigration and Customs rule out the possibility of communicable diseases, and Cuba on the shore of Sanibel's West Gulf Drive at about 6 Enforcement (ICE) had taken custody of the refugees and then, if cleared, the immigrants will be "released into soci- a.m. on Tuesday, July 26, Chief Bill Tomlinson of the of the investigation into their arrival. ety," said McCullough. Sanibel Police Department told the Island Reporter. Pam McCullough, Public Information Officer for ICE, Criminal investigators of the ICE will conduct a follow- The group of 15 men, three women, and one child who said the Border Patrol would process and fingerprint the up on the incident, McCullough said. appeared to be three to four years of age reportedly waited immigrants in Fort Myers. No witnesses observed the craft that transported the calmly on the beach to surrender to authorities, said The group would then be transported to Pembroke immigrants to Sanibel, said Tomlinson. According to Tomlinson. Pines, which is the Border Patrol station in charge of the McCullough, there was nothing out of the ordinary about "They were waiting to be processed," Tornlinson said.