Reporters have been allowed in the room to cover detention hearings for the Sri Lankan migrants who arrived in British Columbia on a freighter last week, but the Tamil Congress and other interested groups are still barred.
The hearings are required so authorities can keep the migrants in area jails until their identities are confirmed and normally, they are held in private.
But Leeann King, a member of the Immigration and Refugee Board, ruled today that it's in the public interest for reporters to be present.
She denied a request from members of the Canadian Tamil Congress to also be allowed, saying they can get their news from reporters.
Lawyers for the migrants and for the Canada Border Services Agency had argued the hearings should remain closed to protect the identities of the refugee claimants.
King says identifying details such as the person's name, age and place of birth cannot be reported.
A total of 75 detention hearings were held on Tuesday.
