Thursday, Oct. 12, 2000 | 9:23 a.m.
The 188 workers on the Texas Treasure had been barred from stepping onto American soil after they failed Immigration and Naturalization Service inspections on Sept. 10.
The crew members, said to be from 20 countries including the Bahamas, Ecuador, Honduras and the Philippines, were granted shore leave Wednesday, said Denton Lankford, an INS spokesman in San Antonio.
"They were very cooperative, the captain and crew," Lankford said in Thursday's editions of the Corpus Christi Caller-Times. "Everything went very smoothly. The crew can leave the ship now, though they will still live on the ship. That is standard for all crews."
The ship had just come in from a two-day trip to Altamira, Mexico early Wednesday morning, making them eligible for another federal immigration inspection. It was not immediately clear if the crew members were allowed to leave the boat while it was docked in Mexico.
This time the ship captain's manifest - a listing of all crew members, regardless of nationality - was complete, as was an agenda for foreign ports of call, Lankford said.
Questions remain as to whether the cruise ship is registered in the United States or another country. Under immigration law, foreign ships must make foreign ports of call at least once every 29 days.
Officials at Viva Gaming and Resorts Inc., the Texas Treasure's parent company, would not comment Wednesday, spokesman Mike Katz said.
Lankford said a question of whether the ship's status should be as a cruise ship or a casino ship also could affect the operation and its crew.
If the ship's status changes, the crew's immigration documents would have to change as well. Any time the ship returns from a foreign trip, the crew is re-inspected and the rules depend on what status the ship holds, Lankford said.
John D. Lee, an attorney for Viva Gaming, said last month the ship should retain its temporary foreign status, since similar gambling ship operations in Florida and New York are not considered U.S. businesses.
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