Thread: Haitians Come Out of Shadow to Seek Temp. Protected Status

Haitians come out of shadow to seek temporary protected status

Islande Vertilus, left, fills out temporary protective status papers, Thursday, Jan. 21, 2010, Notre Dame d'Haiti Catholic Church in Miami's Little Haiti neighborhood, as her 4-year-old daughter Gemima and volunteer Catholic Charities worker Rosita Montfort watches. Thursday marks the start of a program that offers qualifying Haitian immigrants already in the United States the chance to legally remain here and get work permits. Haiti was struck by a massive earthquake Jan. 12. (AP Photo/Alan Diaz)

By Dianna Smith
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Updated: 12:17 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2010

Posted: 9:46 p.m. Monday, Jan. 25, 2010

They're beginning to come out of hiding.

The undocumented Haitians who have been keeping a low profile in South Florida are hearing the whispers that they can live in the United States legally for as long as 18 months. Some wonder if it's only a rumor. Others believe it's too good to be true. And then there are some, like Rauel Charles, already with application in hand, searching for someone to help him.

"I'm illegal, I'm not working," said Charles, 45, of West Palm Beach. "Right now I don't have money to send for my family in Haiti. But I will get employment. Then I will send money. Now I am very, very happy."

The federal government grants temporary protected status to citizens of nations in the midst of an armed conflict or natural disaster, allowing undocumented immigrants to stay and work here until life in their country improves. Haitians have been pleading for the change for years. After the Jan. 12 earthquake that crushed cities and villages, killing untold thousands, Haitians are now on that TPS list.

Local nonprofits and Haitian organizations in Palm Beach County are quickly preparing for the expected flood of phone calls and visits from Haitians wanting protected status. The leaders of these groups also are scrambling for answers from the U.S. Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services on how to speed up the process.

Many desperate for TPS began flocking to the Haitian Citizen United Task Force office in Lake Worth on Thursday, the first day Haitians could begin applying. They found an overwhelmed Bob-Louis Jeune, trying to accommodate every request.

"I have too many people in my office," he said. "People keep coming."

At the Youth Co-Op office in Palm Springs, a resettlement agency that helps refugees in South Florida, Sharol Lewin's team has a list of names and phone numbers of Haitians requesting help and financial aid. The application process costs $130 to $470, depending on which forms are filled out. USCIS will waive the fee for those living below the poverty level.

Lisa Wilson, director of the Lake Worth Resource Center, is preparing for a crowd today, when officials will be available to answer questions and help with paperwork for a reduced fee of $150. Those who can't afford it will be directed to Catholic Charities Legal Services.

"We're ready," Wilson said.

And so is the Haitian community.

"Now they will come out," said Reginale Durandisse, founder of a Lake Worth Haitian nonprofit, For the Children. "We will know who these people are."

About 41,000 Haitians live in Palm Beach County, and community leaders estimate there may be 10,000 more living here illegally. Some are so afraid of being deported that they refuse to leave their homes and ask pastors to pray with them in living rooms because they're afraid to attend church.

Then there are others with fake driver licenses who have jobs but are paid under the table, and even more who have yet to find work because they lack proper paperwork.

Lewin, of Youth Co-Op, remains hopeful that work will be found. Giving protected status to Haitians could stimulate the economy, she said, and would help Haiti because Haitians who find work would be sending money back to their country.

"They'll be paying taxes and have honest work and will be working to help the government here," she said.

Jeune, of the Haitian Citizen United Task Force, spent Friday at Haitian radio stations, pleading with business owners to provide work. He also warned listeners of scams, telling those wanting TPS to seek help from legitimate services. Jeune said he has heard of attorneys and notaries charging as much as $1,000, promising they can arrange protected status.

Sharon Scheidhauer, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services spokeswoman, estimates that 100,000 to 200,000 Haitians will be eligible for protected status. She does not know how many of those live in Florida.

To qualify, applicants must have been in the United States by Jan. 12, when the quake struck. Applications can be printed from the USCIS Web site or picked up at local USCIS offices, and Haitians have 180 days to apply. USCIS hopes to approve applicants within 90 days.

Scheidhauer stressed that TPS is not a path to legal permanent residence.

But Ira Mehlman, spokesman for the Federation for American Immigration Reform, fears that temporary protected status will encourage Haitians to stay permanently. Mehlman has been vocal against Haitians receiving protected status. His group believes most people flee Haiti because the country is poor, not because of persecution. He agrees that Haitians in the U.S. should not be sent back now but argues the situation did not require a formal TPS declaration.

"Once TPS is instituted, people forget about the part which stands for temporary," Mehlman said. "I guarantee you at the end of that 18 months, advocates will say let's do it again. What we need to do is encourage people to go back over time and rebuild Haiti."

That is what the Haitian community here hopes to do. And that could start now, Haitians say, with TPS.

"They are excited. They'll be able to help their families and send money back home," said Wismick St. Jean, a community activist in Wellington. "You should see their faces. They are not afraid anymore."


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What is temporary protected status?

The federal government grants temporary protected status to citizens of nations in the midst of an armed conflict or natural disaster. In the past, it has been granted to natives of Somalia, Burundi, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Honduras and Sudan.

Who is eligible?

Haitians living in the U.S. illegally as of Jan. 12 can remain here and obtain work authorization for the next 18 months. Those with felonies or two or more misdemeanors, or those who entered the U.S. after Jan. 12 are ineligible.

Where to get help

Immigration officials will issue applications and answer questions in Creole from 4 to 6 p.m. today at the Lake Worth Resource Center, 1121 Lucerne Ave. Staff will be available to assist in completing the applications. Volunteers will help Haitians check on the status of missing relatives through the 'person finder' tool at state.gov/haitiquake. For more information, call (561) 366-9440.
Haitian Citizen United Task Force, 1012 S. Dixie Highway, Lake Worth, (561) 255-4445.
Youth Co-Op Inc., 2112 S. Congress Ave., Palm Springs, (561) 964-1693.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, 9300 Belvedere Road, Royal Palm Beach, (800) 375-5283.

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/haiti ... 95379.html

See:
Start Calling to Oppose Haitian Immigration
http://www.alipac.us/ftopict-186453.html

While it will not revoke the TPS order, there evidently is a move afoot for the State Dept. to issue increased Green Cards and legal visas to the relatives of Haitians already in the United States.

"I'm illegal, I'm not working," said Charles, 45, of West Palm Beach. "Right now I don't have money to send for my family in Haiti. But I will get employment. Then I will send money. Now I am very, very happy."

That's IF you can find a job, good luck with that.

I can understand granting TPS to Haitians airlifted out of Haiti, but the ones illegally here..no. They should be back in Haiti helping rebuild.

At the Youth Co-Op office in Palm Springs, a resettlement agency that helps refugees in South Florida, Sharol Lewin's team has a list of names and phone numbers of Haitians requesting help and financial aid.

Surprise!!!
They are lining up for "Financial assistance" and all they talk about is sending money back to "The home country"

What about displaced American workers and the local economies that are being drained?

Just wonder what sort of proof is needed to verify a person was here before Jan. 12, since they are supposedly undocumented? Employers of these folks will probably never admit they have been aiding and abetting illegal Haitians, at least if they were in their right mind. Churches will probably swear about all of their parishioners, but they have their own motives--like money.
And then, of course, there is the ineptitude of our own government in enforcing existing laws...

Added to homepage
http://www.alipac.us/article4866.html

"I'm illegal, I'm not working," said Charles, 45, of West Palm Beach. "Right now I don't have money to send for my family in Haiti. But I will get employment. Then I will send money. Now I am very, very happy."


Reading this carefully: First he says he wants money "to send for my family." For what? To bring them here?[/b]

I really feel bad for the Hatians, I really do. The tragedy that has befallen them is one that none of us could possibly imagine. With that being said, before the earthquake, Haiti was a piss poor excuse for a country. The people let criminals run the country (just like Mexico) and they expect us to bail them out. Not happening. Fix your country, so you can have a life worth living instead of coming here and turning a first world country into a third world country.