Two groups of illegal immigrants landed by the light of the moon at almost the same time Wednesday morning on the south shore of St. John and the north shore of St. Thomas.
Twelve persons identified as Chinese nationals, all claiming origins from the People's Republic of China, were sighted in Estate Mandahl on St. Thomas around 3 a.m.. Meantime, police on St. John received a report around 4:15 a.m. of a landing in Fish Bay by another group whose members were later identified as five Chinese and 11 Haitians.
Immigration and Naturalization Service agents arrived in Cruz Bay to pick up the individuals detained by police at Zone D Command. As the group of men and women were led out handcuffed in pairs, they looked like a visiting group of college students — most in their 20s, neatly dressed in casual clothing, some wearing backpacks.
Those on St. Thomas were also picked up and taken into custody by Immigration and Naturalizaton Service authorities.
Ivan Ortiz, spokesman for the INS office in San Juan, said two of those detained in the Wednesday morning round-ups were minors.
Illegal entry by Chinese nationals on St. John has been ongoing since the early 1990s. What was unusual this time was the landing site, in residential Fish Bay on the island's south shore.
Ortiz said authorities in the Virgin Islands were still processing the detainees late Thursday afternoon. An appearance in District Court will likely be arranged by Friday, he said.
