A MONTH AFTER COURT VICTORY, IMMIGRANT IS LET OUT OF PRISON

BRIDGEPORT, Conn., July 13 -- Enrico St. Cyr, the Haitian immigrant whose
victory before the United States Supreme Court last month changed the fate
of thousands of legal immigrants facing deportation proceedings, has been
released from prison.

Mr. St. Cyr, 34, had been held at the Hartford Correctional Center by the
Immigration and Naturalization Service since May 1999, when he completed a
three-year state prison sentence for selling about $100 worth of cocaine.

Under strict federal laws enacted in 1996 regarding immigrants convicted of
certain crimes, immigrants like Mr. St. Cyr faced automatic deportation
without the right to seek a waiver of deportation from a federal judge.

Such waivers had frequently been granted to legal immigrants in the past,
particularly those who had family ties in the United States or had been
convicted of only minor offenses. Last month, in a 5 to 4 decision, the
United States Supreme Court gave Mr. St. Cyr the right to seek such a waiver.

One of Mr. St. Cyr's lawyers, Michael G. Moore of Springfield, Mass., had
feared that it would take weeks if not months for him to be released from
prison, and requested a hearing in Federal District Court to ask that Mr.
St. Cyr be set free.

But on Thursday afternoon, immigration officials authorized his release,
and the hearing, scheduled for this morning, was canceled. Instead, Mr. St.
Cyr was driven to the Bridgeport home of his mother, Marie Yvrose Simeon.
He was welcomed by jubilant relatives including his aunt, Rose Jean Baptiste.

"A lot of us stopped by to see him," Ms. Baptiste said today. "Everybody
was happy."

Ms. Simeon, who had not seen her son in five years, said he was so glad to
be free that he did not even eat. Mr. St. Cyr did not respond to telephone
messages today. But in an interview with The Hartford Courant shortly after
his release, he said he planned to enroll in community college and find a job.

Under the terms of his release, Mr. St. Cyr must report to immigration
officials on the first Tuesday of every month and abide by restrictions on
his travel and other activities.

It was unclear when he would actually be able to seek his waiver of
deportation.