France suspends expulsions of illegal Haitians

(AP) — France has suspended expelling illegal immigrants from Haiti in the wake of the massive earthquake there, the country's immigration minister said Thursday.

France will instead temporarily allow earthquake victims who need medical assistance into the country, Eric Besson said in a statement.

The Haitian community in France is estimated at about 80,000. The statement did not say how many people would be affected by the suspension.

France expels thousands of illegal immigrants each year.

Tuesday's magnitude-7 quake hit the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince, wreaking widespread devastation. There is no estimate on how many people were killed.