MIAMI, March 29 (UPI) -- An orphaned Haitian teenager whose arrival in Florida was televised nationally along with those of 200 other refugees will be allowed to stay.
Most of the other Haitians who arrived with Ernso "Ernesto" Joseph have been deported, but the fight for the boy centered on unequal treatment of Haitian and Cuban refugees, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported Tuesday.
It also focused on his imprisonment as a minor in an adult detention center. At one point Rep. Kendrick Meek, D-Fla., felt compelled to enter the case.
The decision Monday would allow Joseph to apply for permanent residency.
He arrived in Key Biscayne, Fla., in October 2002 and along with the others waded ashore as the scene was shown nationally on television.
There were persistent efforts to deport Joseph.
"It was the government's position that Haitians like Ernso should be kept out," said immigrant advocate Cheryl Little. "He represents the extent to which advocates have to fight to save one life."
