Thread: Thousands face Deportation

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massac ... _deadline/




Antonio Amaya said Hondurans have told him that they would rather save their money for citizenship application fees. (Suzanne Kreiter/ Globe Staff)


Refugees facing renewal deadline
Delay by Hondurans worries advocates
By Yvonne Abraham, Globe Staff | May 29, 2006

Tens of thousands of Honduran immigrants who gained temporary permission to live in the United States after Hurricane Mitch devastated their nation in 1998 will be subject to deportation as of July 5 because they have not responded to a US government invitation to renew their legal status.

Advocates say the Hondurans have been watching the immigration debate in Congress and are under the mistaken impression that they will soon be able to apply for full citizenship. They are not renewing their status because they are holding out for that bigger prize, say those who work with them.

``They're playing Russian roulette with their immigration status," said Shawn Saucier , a spokesman for the US Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services. ``If they do not register, it will void their employment authorization."

Hondurans have until June 1 to register for another year of Temporary Protected Status, which gives them Social Security numbers, allowing them to work and obtain driver's licenses and many other benefits.

Nicaraguans also have the temporary immigration status because of Hurricane Mitch and must renew their registrations by June 1. The 60-day renewal period for Salvadorans, who obtained Temporary Protected Status after earthquakes in 2001, will probably be in late summer.

As of last Thursday , fewer than half of the 75,000 eligible Hondurans in the United States had extended their permission to remain here until conditions in their home country improve. Some local immigrant advocates say the response rate in Boston, Chelsea, Everett, and Somerville is similarly anemic.

At La Comunidad Inc. in Everett, only about 100 of the 250 Hondurans registered have renewed their status, said Antonio Amaya , executive director of the immigrant services organization.

``It is a serious problem," he said. ``We believe they are wasting their opportunity to continue having an employment authorization document."

Amaya said Hondurans have told him they consider the $250 to $350 it would cost to renew their status a waste of money. They believe that immigration legislation is coming soon and they want to save their money for citizenship application fees, he said.

On Thursday, the Senate passed immigration legislation that would provide millions of undocumented immigrants, including some of those who qualify for Temporary Protected Status, with a path to citizenship. But that legislation must now be reconciled with House legislation that focuses more on enforcement and contains no provision allowing undocumented immigrants to seek citizenship. Even if a compromise includes the path to citizenship and is signed into law by President Bush, it could be months or years before immigrants can apply for permanent residency.

Amaya and other advocates say they have tried repeatedly to explain this laborious legislative process to their clients to persuade them to re register, but without much success. They have also told their clients that if they don't keep their immigration status legal, it may be much more difficult to apply for citizenship later.

``One man said, `I know the immigration reform is around the corner, and I don't want to spend the $325,' " Amaya said. ``I told him this is not going to happen for at least six or eight months, I told him he will not be able to work in that period."

But the Honduran man, who works in a factory coating wire with plastic, told Amaya that his employer has not checked his work authorization for years, and probably would not know his work permit has expired. He told Amaya he would save his money to pay the $2,000 he has heard it will cost to get full citizenship.

That scenario has been repeated at immigrant service organizations across the Boston area.

Lucy Pineda , director of Latinos United in Massachusetts, has been trying to track down the 200 Everett-area Hondurans who renewed their temporary protected status with the organization in 2004, because only 18 of them have renewed so far this year.

``It's really worrying," she said.

At the East Boston Ecumenical Center, where workers help applicants complete their renewal forms, only 18 Hondurans have renewed their status, compared with 50 in 2004. At Proyecto Hondureño , about 175 of the 300 Hondurans who registered for Temporary Protected Status last time have renewed this year. At the Committee of Refugees from El Salvador in Somerville, about 25 of the 50 eligible Hondurans have renewed.

``We are here to help them, but if they don't make up their minds to keep going forward, they are going to be out of status," said Marcos Garcia , the organization's director. ``If they are out of status, that is going to affect them if they try to adjust their legal status later on."

According to the 2000 Census, there are about 6,000 Honduran immigrants in Massachusetts. Tito Meza , a board member at Proyecto Hondureño, said the current population is at least twice as big as that, with about 4,000 eligible for temporary protected status.

Community organizations have been trying to reach those immigrants and urge them to re register in speeches at churches, in public service announcements in Spanish-language media, and in advertising. Representatives from the Honduran Embassy have also been spreading the word in San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, and other cities with large Honduran populations.

The impact of 30,000 Hondurans losing their status would be felt keenly in the poor Central American nation, said David Hernandez , minister for consular affairs at the Honduran Embassy in Washington, D.C. Hondurans living abroad, mostly in the United States, send $1.8 billion back to the country each year, making their remittances the nation's single biggest source of income, he said.

``The families will feel the impact of this confusion" over immigration changes , Hernandez said. ``And if all these people are deported, our country is not prepared to receive that many people at once."

Nicaraguans, too, were granted Temporary Protected Status after Hurricane Mitch, which left at least 7,000 dead in Honduras and Nicaragua and crippled the nations' infrastructure. Under the program, the 4,000 Nicaraguans living in the United States -- legally or otherwise -- when the hurricane hit were granted temporary permission to live and work here until conditions in their home country improved. The permission has been extended several times since 1999, and each time, Nicaraguans, like Hondurans, have had to renew their status.

Of the Nicaraguans eligible to renew by the June 1 deadline, only 1,700 had done so as of May 25. According to the 2000 Census, there are about 850 Nicaraguans in Massachusetts.

About 225,000 natives of El Salvador who were living in the United States before earthquakes hit that country in 2001 were also awarded Temporary Protected Status. Their permission to stay in the United States has also been extended, and their renewal period will come at the end of the summer.

While the 2000 Census counted 20,000 Salvadorans in Massachusetts, advocates say that there are as many as 90,000 now, and many of them would be eligible.

Some immigrant advocates are concerned that Salvadorans, too, will forgo their renewals in the hopes of winning citizenship. But many say the Salvadorans will not go the way of Nicaraguans and Hondurans.

Already, community organizations have been inundated with calls from Salvadorans asking when they can re register for their protected status. Amaya said he had been getting so many calls at La Comunidad that he expects 90 percent of the 1,500 Salvadorans who renewed their status with his help last time to do so this year.

``They are absolutely on top of those work permits," said Paula Virtue , immigrant coordinator at the East Boston Ecumenical Council. ``They follow the news every single day, and they call in here in a way I've never seen with any other group."

She was at a loss to explain the difference between the Hondurans and Salvadorans in that respect. Amaya, who is Salvadoran, said it might be cultural.

``Salvadorans don't like risk too much," he said.

Yvonne Abraham can be reached at abraham@globe.com.



© Copyright 2006 The New York Times Company

How can we force those wishing immigration to the US from Europe, Iran, Iraq, Afganistan, Canada, etc. when we allow Mexicans to come here illegally.

Isn't this discrimination? Let's let everyone in. Why not Bin Laden? He's a felon too... What's the damn difference, they're all felons. Can the US discriminate this way?

The USA, pay $2,000. and your sins will be forgiven; just be sure you shop at Walmart I don't think that is what my forefathers fought for.

That is how a lot of them are staying here now! "Out of Status". Over stay your welcome and squat.

They have been here since 1999! I think they can return home now. I'm sure all the huricane damage has been cleaned up and the water has dried up by now. That is crazy.

If they go out of status, send them home. They tried to cheat the system. Bye!

Dixie

Something better change! American's should be allowed to say who and how many comes here!

This whole Senate bill, well they need to let Americans vote on it!

This is what these bastards in Congress have created......AND THEY KNEW IT!