Thread: Should Haitians Illegally in U.S. Get "Protected Status

Should Haitians Illegally in U.S. Get "Protected Status"?
Critics: TPS for Haitians a Slippery Slope to Amnesty

By DEVIN DWYER and TEDDY DAVIS
ABC News

WASHINGTON, Jan. 15, 2010—

As aid workers scramble to house and feed thousands of Haitians affected by Tuesday's earthquake, the Obama administration is grappling with how to process thousands of illegal Haitian immigrants whom U.S. authorities had planned to send home.

The Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said Wednesday that they are halting all deportations to Haiti indefinitely. But the agencies have not, however, granted temporary protective status to Haitians living illegally in the United States, despite mounting calls to do so.

"TPS is in the range of considerations right now," Department of Homeland Security spokesman Matt Chandler said. "But our primary focus remains on saving lives."

Several liberal groups and members of Congress are urging the administration to grant the special protection to an estimated 30,000 Haitians with orders to leave. The designation would allow them to live and work freely in the United States until conditions in Haiti improve and the status could be revoked.

But conservative immigration groups, including at least one Republican congressman, said such a move amounts to a slippery slope to "amnesty" and could stoke a political controversy on immigration.

"This sounds to me like open borders advocates exercising the Rahm Emanuel axiom: 'Never let a crisis go to waste,'" Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, said in an e-mail message to ABCNews. "Illegal immigrants from Haiti have no reason to fear deportation, but if they are deported, Haiti is in great need of relief workers, and many of them could be a big help to their fellow Haitians."

By law, the secretary of Homeland Security can offer temporary protected status to illegal immigrants of a particular nationality if calamities such as natural disasters or war make it too burdensome for their home countries to receive them.

El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Somalia and Sudan currently have temporary protective status designations.

Immigrants without criminal records and residing in the United States at the time the new status is extended simply pay a fee to apply for temporary protected status and then receive protection for up to 18 months.

Granting Protected Status to Haitians Could Stir Immigration Debate

Even though temporary protected status, by itself, does not lead to permanent resident status or a green card, the government can -- and often does -- renew it repeatedly as conditions warrant. That troubles immigration opponents.

"Apparently, there's nothing temporary about a temporary protected status order, and we do not want to see millions of Haitian refugees permanently transplanted to the United States in the middle of the economic nightmare we're in the middle of," William Gheen, president of the conservative Americans for Legal Immigration PAC, said.

Dan Stein, president of the conservative Federation for American Immigration Reform, said in a statement that while he supports temporary suspension of deportations to Haiti, temporary protective status has been abused in the past.

"It is incumbent upon our national leaders to not only act compassionately but to act responsibly," he said. "In some cases, such as TPS for citizens of El Salvador, the triggering event occurred nearly a decade ago."

While some of the most conservative opponents of illegal immigration oppose temporary protected status, several Republicans are calling for it to be extended to Haitians. Shortly after Tuesday's quake, Reps. Lincoln Diaz-Balart, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and Mario Diaz-Balart -- all GOP House members from Florida -- sent a letter to President Obama reiterating their earlier pleas for TPS for Haitians.

"The combined destruction from today's catastrophic earthquake and the previous storms clearly makes forced repatriation of Haitians hazardous to their safety at this time. We strongly believe that it is for such a situation that Congress created TPS," the letter read.

Rep. Alcee Hastings, a Florida Democrat, went further Wednesday, saying it is "not only immoral but irresponsible to continue to deny Haitians TPS."

Still, given the politically charged immigration debate, the administration's decision to grant even "temporary" relief to thousands of illegal immigrants is not being taken lightly.

The Obama administration, like its predecessor, has denied Haitians' repeated previous requests for temporary protective status since the fall of 2008, after four hurricanes and tropical storms killed hundreds of people, destroyed Haiti's food crops and caused nearly $1 billion in damage.

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/HaitiEar ... id=9570995

YEA WILLIAM!!!

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http://www.alipac.us/article-4843--0-0.html

I have to agree with Congressman King. Why not send the Haitians back, in place of our military, with the same rations we would send them with? Are there any volunteers? Sign them up and send them home.

Ironically, many of them will now want to self-deport but will not be allowed because I'm sure non-essential flights into Haiti have been completely halted. There's no fuel for return flights from the main airport. The supply line is closed.

Dixie

I oppose the temporary status and believe they all need to be deported back to Haiti on schedule so they can work there to rebuild their homeland. There is no reason at all for Americans to be traipsing over to Haiti to do work that deported Haitians can do just as well.

Originally Posted by Judy

I oppose the temporary status and believe they all need to be deported back to Haiti on schedule so they can work there to rebuild their homeland. There is no reason at all for Americans to be traipsing over to Haiti to do work that deported Haitians can do just as well.

I totally agree.

Now is the time for all good Haitians to come to the aid of their country!

I also object to TPS for the Haitians here. There is a whole wide world out there that can also handle the refugees. We don't need to spend precious resources getting people out of the country, and for those here illegally, they are not really suffering, except with worry.
But, I think we need to be there, as I would hate to see another Little Cuba or Little Venezuela or China rising from the rubble.

There is nothing teporary about TPS. Help with aide but dont bring them here to stay forever. And dont give TPS status to those who entered here illegally.

TPS would encourage more than half the population of Haiti to try to get to the USA.

TPS: Haiti's illegal immigrants given temporary protection in US
The Department of Homeland Security said it would offer Haitians who were here illegally before Tuesday's earthquake temporary protected status (TPS). Haiti has 100,000 people living in the US illegally.


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By Michael B. Farrell Staff writer
posted January 15, 2010 at 7:57 pm EST

San Francisco —
In a move supported by both Democrats and Republicans, the Obama administration Friday extended special protection to some 100,000 Haitians living illegally in the United States that keeps them from being deported.

The Department of Homeland Security said it would offer Haitian nationals, who were already here when Tuesday’s earthquake struck, Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for 18 months. That status, which would allow them to legally work, will not cover Haitians who flee their country following the devastating 7.0 quake that resulted in as many as 50,000 deaths and left its capital, Port-au-Prince, in ruins.

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said it’s “tempting for people suffering in the aftermath of the earthquake to seek refuge elsewhereâ€