The Nation - News from May 18, 1989

The Justice Department has deported the first Nicaraguan refugees from South Texas since it began detaining Central American asylum-seekers in February, officials said. Department spokeswoman Deborah Burstion-Wade said the deportations do not signal a change in policy and were delayed because “there were some bottlenecks.” Although dozens of Salvadorans, Guatemalans and Hondurans have been deported since the Immigration and Naturalization Service began detaining Central American asylum-seekers on Feb. 20, no Nicaraguans had been deported until Monday. INS spokesman Duke Austin said 10 Nicaraguans were deported Monday and 16 on Tuesday, with deportation orders pending on more than 100 others.