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<!--start inside box --> <!--Start Article--> US grants Haitian illegals temporary asylum
2010/01/16
WASHINGTON: The US government on Friday granted temporary asylum to Haitians already living illegally in the United States before their homeland was struck by a devastating earthquake. Rights advocates and lawmakers had earlier called on the White House to grant a special shield to thousands of Haitians who have sneaked into the country over the past years.
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said Haitians would be granted Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, that would allow undocumented individuals living in the United States to remain for 18 months. That would allow them to renew or obtain drivers licenses, and work legally.
“Providing a temporary refuge for Haitian nationals... whose personal safety would be endangered by returning to Haiti is part of this administration’s continuing efforts to support Haiti’s recovery,” Napolitano said. The special protection is meant as relief for immigrants from countries reeling from natural disaster or political strife.
Supporters of the move argued that the status would also help Haiti to rebuild, as immigrants send remittances to loved ones in the poorest country in the Americas, devastated by a 7.0-magnitude earthquake on Tuesday. Democratic Congressman Kendrick Meek, who represents a Miami district where many Haitians live, hailed the decision saying it had “been a long time coming.”
President Barack Obama “demonstrated that our policies are built upon pillars of morality and justice,” said Meek. The administration “lived up to the full potential of our government and stood shoulder to shoulder with our Haitian neighbors in this time of need.” Before the order was given, according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, authorities had been processing deportation orders for 30,000 Haitians now in the United States.
The non-profit Migration Policy Institute however said 76,000 illegal immigrants from Haiti live in the United States, with a further 535,000 legally residing here, two thirds of them being adults of a working age. Rights advocates have long depicted the current immigration laws as uneven, while even proponents of strict curbs on immigration said TPS was appropriate for Haiti now. Some Central Americans have long enjoyed the immigration shield, while Haitians did not.
“This is why TPS exists,” said Dustin Carnevale, a spokesman for the Washington-based Federation for American Immigration Reform referring to the quake’s aftermath. “If this isn’t a case for TPS, then what is?" Carnevale warned however that TPS had been “abused” in the past with continued extensions. Immigrants from Honduras and Nicaragua have enjoyed the shield since Hurricane Mitch, which occurred in 1997.
<center> <table class="pix2" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> </table> </center> Today’s announcement only applies to Haitians who currently reside in the United States, noted Meek. He stressed Haitians in the United States should “urge their family members not to take to sea, which often results in tragic outcomes and will further hamper recovery efforts already underway in Haiti.”
Hundreds of Haitians attempt the perilous 700-mile (1,100-kilometer) journey to the Florida coast each year, some in rafts, others smuggled by traffickers. But US officials estimate that thousands of Haitians have died at sea in failed bids to flee the poverty, unrest and natural disasters that have beset their homeland, the poorest country in the Americas, for decades.
“For this serious situation, there is an increased risk of a crisis of immigrants from Haiti,” acknowledged US Coast Guard spokeswoman Marilyn Fajardo on Friday in Miami. She told AFP the possibility of a large influx of Haitian migrants into the United States was “the subject of ongoing analysis,” but that the Coast Guard has not yet taken any extraordinary measures.
The Migration Policy Institute also estimated that one in every 20 Haitians lived in the United States, more than 70 percent of them in New York or Florida. -- AFP
<!--start inside box --> <!--Start Article--> US grants Haitian illegals temporary asylum
2010/01/16
WASHINGTON: The US government on Friday granted temporary asylum to Haitians already living illegally in the United States before their homeland was struck by a devastating earthquake. Rights advocates and lawmakers had earlier called on the White House to grant a special shield to thousands of Haitians who have sneaked into the country over the past years.
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said Haitians would be granted Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, that would allow undocumented individuals living in the United States to remain for 18 months. That would allow them to renew or obtain drivers licenses, and work legally.
“Providing a temporary refuge for Haitian nationals... whose personal safety would be endangered by returning to Haiti is part of this administration’s continuing efforts to support Haiti’s recovery,” Napolitano said. The special protection is meant as relief for immigrants from countries reeling from natural disaster or political strife.
Supporters of the move argued that the status would also help Haiti to rebuild, as immigrants send remittances to loved ones in the poorest country in the Americas, devastated by a 7.0-magnitude earthquake on Tuesday. Democratic Congressman Kendrick Meek, who represents a Miami district where many Haitians live, hailed the decision saying it had “been a long time coming.”
President Barack Obama “demonstrated that our policies are built upon pillars of morality and justice,” said Meek. The administration “lived up to the full potential of our government and stood shoulder to shoulder with our Haitian neighbors in this time of need.” Before the order was given, according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, authorities had been processing deportation orders for 30,000 Haitians now in the United States.
The non-profit Migration Policy Institute however said 76,000 illegal immigrants from Haiti live in the United States, with a further 535,000 legally residing here, two thirds of them being adults of a working age. Rights advocates have long depicted the current immigration laws as uneven, while even proponents of strict curbs on immigration said TPS was appropriate for Haiti now. Some Central Americans have long enjoyed the immigration shield, while Haitians did not.
“This is why TPS exists,” said Dustin Carnevale, a spokesman for the Washington-based Federation for American Immigration Reform referring to the quake’s aftermath. “If this isn’t a case for TPS, then what is?" Carnevale warned however that TPS had been “abused” in the past with continued extensions. Immigrants from Honduras and Nicaragua have enjoyed the shield since Hurricane Mitch, which occurred in 1997.
<center> <table class="pix2" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> </table> </center> Today’s announcement only applies to Haitians who currently reside in the United States, noted Meek. He stressed Haitians in the United States should “urge their family members not to take to sea, which often results in tragic outcomes and will further hamper recovery efforts already underway in Haiti.”
Hundreds of Haitians attempt the perilous 700-mile (1,100-kilometer) journey to the Florida coast each year, some in rafts, others smuggled by traffickers. But US officials estimate that thousands of Haitians have died at sea in failed bids to flee the poverty, unrest and natural disasters that have beset their homeland, the poorest country in the Americas, for decades.
“For this serious situation, there is an increased risk of a crisis of immigrants from Haiti,” acknowledged US Coast Guard spokeswoman Marilyn Fajardo on Friday in Miami. She told AFP the possibility of a large influx of Haitian migrants into the United States was “the subject of ongoing analysis,” but that the Coast Guard has not yet taken any extraordinary measures.
The Migration Policy Institute also estimated that one in every 20 Haitians lived in the United States, more than 70 percent of them in New York or Florida. -- AFP
