Thread: Chertoff urges law to deport Salvadoreans

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Chertoff urges law to deport Salvadoreans
WASHINGTON, Aug. 29 (UPI) -- DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff has urged Congress to give him the power to deport Salvadorans from the United States.

Congress must immediately act to end a decades-old provision that prohibits Salvadorans from being deported, Chertoff said last week.

After four months of inaction in court following the department's filing of a motion to quash the provision, DHS now is counting on lawmakers, Chertoff said. He said he would like to see legislation passed to eliminate a 1980s injunction preventing the deportation of Salvadorans in the United States illegally. The civil war leading to the injunction ended in the early 1990s, GovExec.com reported last week.

"I believe there ought to be widespread support" on Capitol Hill for the legislation, which is yet to be proposed, Chertoff told reporters. "I would like to see it passed before the midterm elections ... the civil war in El Salvador is over."

From mid-May to mid-July, more than 3,700 Salvadorans were arrested and released under the DHS' old catch-and-release policy. But with the end of that program, Chertoff warned that these illegal immigrants are filling already-crowded detention centers, GovExec.com said.

DHS officials said 99 percent of illegal immigrants caught are now detained and that most are then deported. This is a marked improvement from 2005, when slightly more than one-third of illegals were being detained, the report said.

Already DHS officials are mulling a variety of options to accommodate a growing population at detention centers.

Chertoff said completely ending catch-and-release procedures, in which illegal immigrants are caught but then let go after being served with paperwork to appear at a later court date, will be impossible without a reversal of the policy on Salvadorans, the report said.

What about the Chinese Secretary Chertoff? Aren't you still releasing them?

The provision that prohibits Salvadorans from being deported should have been written to expire once the civil war in El-Salvador ended. In other words, once the reason for the provision ceases to exist, the provision should automatically expire. Wouldn't it be nice if our elected officials used a little forsight when enacting these laws? The same thing goes for the "anchor baby" provision that allowed children of slaves to become U.S. Citizens. There should have been an expiration date written into the law.

The end to catch and release is supposed to apply to all illegal aliens, other than Mexicans (OTM's). The Mexicans are supposedly sent back across the border in short order.

Originally Posted by WavTek

The end to catch and release is supposed to apply to all illegal aliens, other than Mexicans (OTM's). The Mexicans are supposedly sent back across the border in short order.

I heard in the Spanish channel tonight that it is illegal to ask students for social security. This means that the government knows that thousands of students a illegal, and they are protecting them. So tell me?

U.S. officials have set a Thursday deadline for Honduran and Nicaraguan immigrants to apply for a one-year extension to a temporary worker program. Latin American community leaders say thousands of eligible people have yet to apply, because they were expecting Congress to approve a broad immigration reform package. Migrants are now rushing to sign up, as the proposed reforms appear stalled in Congress.


Farm workers unload eggplants while working at Green Pepper Farms in Florida, May 25, 2006
U.S. immigration officials created the temporary work program to help immigrants from nations suffering natural disasters or armed conflicts. Under the program, immigrants from nations given temporary protected status can receive immigrant status and work permits in the United States for up to several years. Honduras and Nicaragua were granted the status in 1999, after Hurricane Mitch devastated parts of Central America.

Over the past decade, temporary status has been given to other nations, including Bosnia-Herzegovina, Somalia and Sudan because of armed conflicts.

Howard Simon, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union in Florida, says the so-called TPS program is an important part of U.S. immigration policy.

"I think it's within the finest traditions of our country, about granting asylum to people for whom it is not safe to return to your land of national origin," he said.

But seven years after Hurricane Mitch, U.S. officials say the disaster has passed and they are preparing to end TPS status for Honduras and Nicaragua next year. The deadline to apply for the program is Thursday. After that, immigrants seeking to remain in the United States will have to follow the same legalization procedures as other foreigners.

Officials announced the decision several months ago. But executive director of the Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center, Cheryl Little, says the message has been lost in recent media coverage.

"There has been so much news, on our radios and televisions, people talking about comprehensive immigration reform, that many immigrants in our community believe that a bill is about to pass which is going to give them the opportunity to earn legalized status over time," she said. "And as a result, many Hondurans and Nicaraguans don't believe there's a need to file for the extension of temporary protected status.

Little adds that some immigrants would rather not pay the $250 application fee, if it's unncessary.

To many Hondurans and Nicaraguans, however, it is now clear that a broad reform package will not be approved by Congress before the TPS deadline this week. And immigration experts warn those who fail to register for the extension may be subject to detention and deportation.

"Now, some immigrants are turning to groups that offer legal assistance before time runs out. Reina, a cashier in Miami, was among dozens of people at the Miami offices of community group Honduran Unity this week."

She says she was seeking help to complete her application for the TPS extension, to ensure there were no mistakes and that the forms would be filed properly.

The current TPS program is open to about 75,000 Hondurans and more than 4,000 Nicaraguans. Officials said last week less than half of those eligible had applied for the extension.

A separate TPS program is to close in September for more than 200,000 people from El Salvador, where an earthquake caused widespread destruction in 2001. In the coming months, it's unclear if Congress will resolve the immigration debate and agree to sweeping changes that could affect all foreign nationals. Until then, immigration experts advise Salvadorian nationals it's never too early to apply for an extension.

Salvadorian president made a special trip to US to urge Salvadorians to re-register to the TPS program. He said that there were 335,000 Salvadorians in US under the TPS program. He also said that halve of Salvador's citizens live in US, and that it was very good for Salvador's economy.

I wonder if all those thousands of people are counted as part of the invasion? I had no idea that these kind of programs existed.

I wonder if all those thousands of people are counted as part of the invasion? I had no idea that these kind of programs existed.

Good question. Both legal & illegal our sytem is so convoluted and broken I think we really need a moratorium of some sort. We've got people coming from every direction. Exceptions for this and exceptions for that. These people don't "count" against the numbers. Those people only some do. Visa overstays and abuses etc. Dollars to donuts the real "legal" immigrations numbers are much higher then the official government numbers.

My experience with El Salvadorians in my own neighborhood and surrounding areas is MS-13.

Deport them already

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