http://cbs4.com/local/local_story_153110341.html

Jun 2, 2006 10:57 am US/Eastern

Thousands Of Nicaraguans, Hondurans Face Deadline

Extension of Temporary Protected Status Must Be Filed Today
Status Covers Victims Of Hurricane Mitch
Without An Extension Request, Thousands Of South Floridians Could Face Deportation

(CBS4 News) MIAMI Time is running out for citizens of Honduras and Nicaragua, living in the US, to apply for an extension for the right to live and work in the US. The deadline is today, and South Florida immigrant rights organizations are warning those who fail to file could risk deportation.

Immigration officials say just about half of the 75 thousand eligible Hondurans and 4 thousand eligible Nicaraguans have to keep Temporary Protected Status, a special immigration status approved for residents of the two countries due to economic and political conditions in the two countries. The status was granted to Nicaraguans and Hondurans after Hurricane Mitch, which killed 9,000 people in Central America.

TPS has been renewed a number of times, and critics of US immigration policy have complained that it is becoming a permanent exemption.

If the program were to end, the people it covers could be told to leave the US. Those who do not file could be eligible for deportation as soon as July 5th. Those granted an extension would be allowed to legally live and work in the US for at least another year.

Immigrant rights organizations have been working to get the word out, but have been frustrated by the lack of response. Some immigrants say they have not applied because they could not afford the $250 renewal fee. Many of the Hondurans and Nicaraguans eligible for the program have low incomes, and advocates say they are struggling to make ends meet.

Fraternidad Nicaraguense, which helps Nicaraguan immigrants in Miami, and Unidad Hondurena, a Honduran assistance group in Miami, are both working to help eligible people sign up for the extension.

The special program also covers residents of El Salvador, but those residents face a September deadline. About 300 thousand citizens of the three nations who now live and work in the US are affected by the program.

A new US immigration reform bill which may address the entire issue of Temporary Protected Status has been stalled in Congress, but immigration rights advocates believe the possibility of a permanent solution had prompted some people to believe they don’t need to file for the TPS extension.


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