Six Jamaican men are likely to be deported after they pleaded guilty yesterday to overstaying their entry visas.

Captured in a joint Immigration/Police sting early Saturday, the men were called by their lawyer the "dregs'' of a wide net which caught 16 suspected illegal aliens. Police said "some'' of the remaining 10 arrested "may require further investigation''.

Their Lawyer Elizabeth Christopher was concerned yesterday that the sting may have targeted Jamaicans unfairly.

The men appeared in Magistrates' Court -- packed with fellow Jamaicans -- before Senior Magistrate Will Francis, and spoke only to plead guilty.

Ms. Christopher, who first saw the men on Saturday morning, last night said they were being sent to jail for something Bermudians had done elsewhere -- and that happens worldwide.

"It would have been the most straightforward thing to have just let them leave -- some had made provisions to go back,'' Ms Christopher said after a long day dealing with the case.

"I mean, deportation has serious repercussions for them,'' she added.

"Perhaps they could be allowed to make their own arrangements to leave Bermuda now under their own steam.

"Plenty of Bermudians have done this.

"It's kind of hard to reconcile that one particular community, of many here, was the target in this operation.

"I'm not aware of any other nationality being targeted on such a scale.

"I wasn't there, but I understand a lot of the people arrested were married to Bermudians.'' Ms Christopher continued: "These men are now at Westgate -- they're locked up. It just seems a bit heavy handed.'' The men are: Elroy Walker, 24, a chain saw operator, Otis Christopher Lancaster, 20, a gardener, and farmer Howard Hensley Graham, 46; Oscar Lloyd Smith, 28, a carpenter, Ellis Livingston Grant, 29, a woodworker, and Glenston Oswald Thomas, 22, a mason.

All of the men are from St. Andrew's Parish in Jamaica except for Smith who is from Portland Parish.

`Illegal alien' Jamaicans face deportation They were arrested at homes on 21 Happy Valley Road, 23 Union Street, and 28 North Street in Pembroke.

The charge, as read by Senior Magistrate Will Francis, was the men overstayed their Immigration permission to be in Bermuda, according to section 28 (c) of the Immigration and Protection Act.

Lancaster admitted to being in Bermuda the shortest time, from October 21, and Graham was here the longest, from June 11.

They each arrived as bona fide visitors and did not apply to have their visas extended, except for Lancaster who arrived on August 20 and received an extension September 18 to stay until October 20.

"This is an issue of people given permission to stay in the Island and extending their stay without permission,'' Crown counsel Larry Mussenden told Mr. Francis. He asked the Magistrate to ask the Governor for a deportation and have the men remanded in custody until they are deported.

"People may think it's okay to overstay, but it is a serious matter,'' Mr.

Mussenden said. "It should not be tolerated and we invite you to treat it accordingly.'' But Ms Christopher, in an impassioned plea, told Mr. Francis the men were prepared to leave Bermuda if ordered.

"We have difficulty with these gentlemen being labelled criminals,'' she added, to comments of "yes, that's right'' and "exactly'' from the gallery.

"Your worship, they had forgotten or did not understand what they were told at the airport,'' Ms Christopher continued. "Nobody is saying they were working in Bermuda. We are only really talking about overstaying for around one month for all of them except one.'' Speaking about the sting operation, she said: "A wide net was cast and a large number of people were arrested and these were the dregs of what was left.'' Mr. Francis rejected her suggestion the men be bound over under a section 64 of the Criminal Code which would leave the men without a record. However, he took into account the men's weekend stay in Police cells. He set the matter down for another hearing on November 29 if the Governor accepts his deportation recommendation and some or all of the men are still in the Island.

It is understood to be Immigration Department practice that two members of the Inspectorate department accompany each deportee from the Island.

Photos by David Skinner Time's up: Jamaicans Elroy Walker (left) and Glenston Thomas hide their faces while walking from court yesterday.

Deportees: Otis Lancaster, 20, (far right) and Howard Graham walk from Magistrates' Court yesterday followed behind by Elroy Walker, Glenston Thomas and two other `illegal aliens'.

IMMIGRATION IMM