Thread: Salvadoran Consul Visits Northwest Arkansas

Salvadoran Consul Visits Northwest Arkansas

By Pablo Bello
THE MORNING NEWS
SPRINGDALE -- The Salvadoran Consul came to Northwest Arkansas on Friday and Saturday to provide services to Salvadorans living in the area.

Salvadoran Consul Mario Roger Hernandez said he came to provide passports, visas, birth certificates and authorize other documents.

WILLIAM MOORE * THE MORNING NEWS [from left] Christian Contreras, Eliecer Contreras, Tony Rivas and Mellisa Rivas play in the bed of a pickup truck while waiting with their families outside Centro Cristiano Hispano on North 56th Street to have their passports and other identification looked over by the Salvadorian Consulate Saturday, July 21, 2007 in Springdale. Christian and Eliecer are brothers and live in Siloam Springs. Tony and Mellisa are siblings, and split time between Siloam Springs and Springdale, but said they spend more time in Springdale.

"There are around 5,000 Salvadorans in Northwest Arkansas," said Hernandez, whose office is in Dallas.
WILLIAM MOORE * THE MORNING NEWS Salvadorians line up outside Centro Cristiano Hispano on North 56th Street to have their passports and other identification looked over by the Salvadorian Consulate Saturday, July 21, 2007 in Springdale.

The jurisdiction of the consulate is north of Texas, Kansas and Oklahoma.

Maria Magdalena Funes de Carcamo, said she came to get a passport to travel to El Salvador.

"If there is any emergency I would like to have it ready to travel," she said.

Hernandez said he is aware of the anti-immigrant environment in Northwest Arkansas, but he said that it is a risk that people without legal documents take.

"Undocumented Salvadorans can be arrested any moment if that law passes (287(g)) but we would like to be sure that they are treated fair and everyone goes through a transparent process without discrimination," said Hernandez.

"We would like to question police if they used racial profiling to stop Salvadorans in the street if that law is approved," said Hernandez.

Rogers Mayor Steve Womack requested in November that Rogers police officers be certified and trained through a program providing local law enforcement authority similar to that of federal immigration officers. The officer's level of authority would depend on details found in a memorandum of understanding, which the city hopes to enter into with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Other cities such as Springdale have requested the same program, but they are still waiting for a answer from the federal government.

Womack said the plan isn't for the city to have officers patrolling for illegal immigrants, but to have officers with authority to act on immigration issues if illegal immigrants are detained by the department.

The Salvadoran Consul said that it was unfortunate that the immigration reform was not approved in Congress, but Congress sooner or later will have to deal with it.

Many Salvadorans have Temporary Protected Status, which was given to Salvadorans by the U.S. government on March 9, 2001, after devastating earthquakes in El Salvador. Hernandez said that the status is expiring on Sept. 9, and the consulate has not received a date for the extension of the program from the Department of Homeland Security.

"We would like to extend an invitation to all Salvadorans to be alert to know when to renew their (status)," said Hernandez.

http://www.nwaonline.net/articles/2007/ ... lvador.txt

And why is it that the Salvadorian Consul is being allowed to do this?

This is disgusting. Why doesn't he take all his lawbreakers home with him? Instead he is bringing them passports, etc. that they can try to doctor to commit document fraud.

They can give them a pile of documents a foot high, but that DOESN'T make them LEGAL, and doctoring papers from their home country doesn't help them.

The Salvadoran Consul came to Northwest Arkansas on Friday and Saturday to provide services to Salvadorans living in the area.

Salvadoran Consul Mario Roger Hernandez said he came to provide passports, visas, birth certificates and authorize other documents.

... does the aiding and abetting of illegal criminal activity never end. Mr. Boooosh...why are foreign governments allowed to do this???

Originally Posted by NCByrd

They can give them a pile of documents a foot high, but that DOESN'T make them LEGAL, and doctoring papers from their home country doesn't help them.

No but they can use their documents to open bank accounts and get mortgages.

"We would like to question police if they used racial profiling to stop Salvadorans in the street if that law is approved," said Hernandez.

How absurd. How can "racial profiling" NOT play a role in determining whether someone is illegal or not? If a bunch of "white people" suddenly showed up on the streets of Salvador, wouldn't Salvadorian police WONDER if they were all legal or not? Or are "white people" exempt from "racial profiling"?

I am not saying "racial profiling" is right. I am against it. But to be honest, it sometimes needs to be used.

Why did the US do this

Many Salvadorans have Temporary Protected Status, which was given to Salvadorans by the U.S. government on March 9, 2001, after devastating earthquakes in El Salvador.

Just because of a natural disaster??? thats insane

Salvadoran Consul Mario Roger Hernandez said he came to provide passports, visas, birth certificates and authorize other documents.

Mexican Consulates representatives have been doing this for a while now (traveling around to issue documents). I guess the Salvadoran's may as well get in on the action.

Personally, I think our government should require a U.S. governmental official stamp of approval and signature affixed on any legal documents issued to foreign nationals while in the United States. Foreign consulats shouldn't have a free-reign on issuing official documents while here. In my opinion, under the current circumstances, the potential for fraud does exist. NO OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS SHOULD BE ISSUED TO ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS!!! We're supposed to be making illegals lives more difficult, not easier.

jamesw62 wrote:

Why did the US do this

Many Salvadorans have Temporary Protected Status, which was given to Salvadorans by the U.S. government on March 9, 2001, after devastating earthquakes in El Salvador.

Just because of a natural disaster??? thats insane

Excellent question. Did Mexico offer TPS to Americans after Katrina? Did Canada offer TPS to the citizens of New York after 9/11? Furthermore, is 6 years really temporary? Also, did you know some of the so-called refuges end up on a path to citizenship? THe TPS is another form of amnesty for some illegals.

El Salvador had two severe earthquakes within the space of one month in 2001. There were less than 1,200 casualties (over 1,000 of them died from one mud landslide). In comparison, Hurricane Katrina killed around 2,000 Americans and the destruction of the WTC took around 5,000 lives. I realize El Salvador only has a population of 7 million compared to a U.S. population of 300 million, however, I still don't think we should have offered indefinite refuge to those folks (I don't like to use the word temporary when there is no official ending date).

By the way, El Salvador's government is just as corrupt as Mexico's. The top 1/5 of El Salvador's population possesses 45% of the country's wealth. The bottom 1/5 - between 5 and 6%.

The El Salvador earthquakes provided a very convienient excuse for legalizing illegal alien El Salvador nationals.

Here's an interesting article from FAIR on the Temporary Protected Status amnesty. Yes, TPS can be an amnesty for many illegals.

Temporary Protected Status

As FAIR executive director Dan Stein noted in congessional testimony on March 4, 1999,

"Our laws should not reward illegal immigrants to the United States regardless of the political or natural upheavals in their homelands. Otherwise, experience shows that we will encourage further illegal immigration. By now, we should have learned from experience that TPS is misnamed -- what we offer as "temporary" protection is most often seen by the aliens residing illegally in the United States as a foot in the door to legal permanent residence. They are happy to accept our offer of humanitarian concern, but they have no intention of departing the United States when TPS status expires.

In 1990 the United States adopted a law that provides temporary protection in the United States for non-resident foreigners who wish to avoid returning to their homeland because of civil strife or effects of a natural disaster of "extraordinary and temporary conditions."

The people who were to benefit from this Temporary Protected Status (TPS) were people who were not seeking permanent residence based on asylum for those fearing persecution in their homeland. Students or visitors whose visas were expiring were spared from seeking a visa extension by this provision.

However, the true beneficiaries of TPS were not temporary visitors, but rather people who had entered the United States illegally.

This was clear from the outset, when Congress, in adopting the measure, specified that people from El Salvador should be among the first beneficiaries. The Salvadorans, for the most part, had entered the country illegally.

Not only did TPS spare illegal aliens from deportation, it provided them a quasi-legal status in the country and gave them work permits so that they could legally work.

DISTORTIONS IN THE TPS PROGRAM
Clearly the test of whether the TPS program would work as intended, i.e., a temporary respite for persons who fear returning home because of temporary adverse conditions, is whether TPS status has been allowed to lapse when homeland conditions have stabilized and whether the protected populations have then left the United States to return home. By this standard, TPS has been an absolute failure. Practice has shown a pattern of unjustified extensions of TPS designations and demands for amnesty by the protected aliens so that they could stay permanently in the United States.

An example of this distortion of the TPS program may be seen in the recent extension of the TPS status for Liberians. Attorney General Janet Reno found that conditions in Liberia no longer justified an extension of TPS. However, President Clinton in effect overruled that finding and again extended temporary protection for Liberians. He did not do so on the basis that the Liberians would face danger or unusual hardship if they had to return home. Rather, he justified his decision on the argument that if the United States were to force Liberians to return home, other nations, especially in West Africa, might adopt similar policies toward the Liberian expatriate communities living in their countries. This, the Administration reasoned, might be destabilizing to the current Liberian government.

But, the basis for TPS was to protect individuals, not their governments. The Liberian example was not the first of the Clinton Administration heeding the concerns of foreign governments in deciding TPS designation. It had done so earlier when Central American countries asked that the United States not deport their nationals who had benefited from TPS, arguing that they did not have jobs available for the prospective returnees.

TEMPORARY PROTECTED STATUS AND AMNESTIES
The interrelationship between the TPS status and amnesty for aliens residing illegally in the United States unfortunately is clear. That link was unmistakably established in the debate surrounding treatment of natives of El Salvador who were specifically designated for TPS status in the 1990 Immigration Act. These aliens, who for the most part entered the country illegally in the 1980s, and were granted legal temporary protection and work permits as a result of the TPS designation, never went home after political stability was reestablished in their homeland. The fact that they had been covered by TPS -- and later by Deferred Enforcement of Departure -- and during this period had put down roots, had acquired U.S.-born children, had been legally working and paying taxes was cited as sufficient reason that they should be given legal residence rather than forced to leave.

We have since been subjected to an outright amnesty for Nicaraguans and Cubans and a quasi-amnesty for others that allows them to obtain residence on the basis of family hardship. In addition, there have been continued efforts to adopt a full-fledged amnesty for Haitians, Liberians, Portugese, and the other Central Americans who have benefited from TPS.

It should be apparent from any close focus on the disparity between the intent of our policies and the practical effects that we can see, that this gap is undermining our immigration laws. Congress needs to correct the balance between compassionate policies and protecting the public against uninvited and unwanted illegal immigrants. The American public needs to be reassured that its compassion is not being taken advantage of by foreigners seeking greater economic opportunity through the opening of our hearts to victims of political or natural disasters.

To end this cycle,

Congress needs to speak with one voice on the importance of ending mass illegal immigration, and of the importance of equipping the INS (under professional, committed leadership) to handle the large-scale apprehension and deportations required to restore integrity to the rule of law.


TPS should only be available to populations that have entered the U.S. legally; it should be a program available only to those who are here in the normal course of affairs for whom returning would be a hardship.


Those who receive TPS should not be permitted to jump from one administrative status to another.


TPS cannot be a mere stepping stone to permanent residence. Those who receive TPS should not be given any further opportunity to file claims for relief later under any other provision of U.S. law, other than as a result of a marriage to a U.S. Citizen.


Once the status expires, the alien should not be permitted to apply for a Permanent Residence visa for at least two years. This should be made clear to the applicant at the time he/she applies for TPS.


Those receiving TPS are not refugees or asylees as recognized under U.S. law or international conventions and treaties to which the U.S. is a party. Their claims of hardship, while compelling in their own right, are not to be viewed as the basis of refugee admissions. Rather, they are immigration admissions; aliens granted the right to adjust as permanent residents must do so only within existing annual visa allocations.


Large scale grants of TPS and a rolling suspension of deportation should not be an add-on to the existing immigration flow. Rather, there needs to be an offset from future numerical allocations to compensate. Otherwise, the pressure can and will continue to grow to increase annual visa numbers.



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TEMPORARY PROTECTED STATUS (TPS) BENEFICIARY COUNTRIES
El Salvador - Sept. 1990
Liberia - Mar. 1991
Kuwait - Mar. 1991
Lebanon - Mar. 1991
Somalia - Sept. 1991
Bosnia - Aug. 1992
Rwanda - June 1994
Sierra Leone - Nov. 1997 *
Burundi - Nov. 1997 *
Sudan - Nov. 1997 *
Montserrat - Aug. 1997 *
Kosovo - June 1998 *
Nicaragua - Dec. 1998 *
El Salvador - Dec. 1998 *
Honduras - Jan. 1999 *
Angola - Mar. 2000 *


(* applications still accepted)

Updated 7/02