MIAMI (CMC):

Florida Democratic Congressman Kendrick B. Meek has appealed to President George W. Bush to release the over 100 Haitians detained in Miami after attempting to enter the United States illegally on a sailing boat last month.

In his letter to Bush on Monday, Meek urged that the 101 Haitians be released to "trustworthy sponsors, such as the Archdiocese of Miami, so that they can prepare the stringent cases they can under our laws."

Immigration officials in Miami detained the Haitians after their boat ran ashore on a Hollywood beach, north of Miami, on March 28.