We do not need to give temporary protected status to people as many of those who have it now don't renew it or remain if a renewal was denied. We also don't need all those immigrants who are taking work away from Americans. If we let them stay we will only get more of them coming as they will think they too will get to stay.

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/em ... 596440.htm

Herald News Alerts
Posted on Thu, Feb. 01, 2007email thisprint thisS. Fla. lawmakers: Fix immigration nowBY CASEY WOODS
cwoods@MiamiHerald.com
Two of South Florida's Cuban-American members of Congress called on the Democrats to push for comprehensive immigration reform and for the Bush administration to grant temporary protected status to Haitians in a program that already benefits people from El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua.

''We're concerned because the Democrats . . . have given no signs of giving any importance or priority to immigration,'' said U.S. Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart. ``It's time for the Democratic leadership to put up or shut up.''

Diaz-Balart and his brother U.S. Rep Mario Diaz-Balart spoke on the issue today at Miami Dade College's Wolfson campus in downtown Miam.

Several local immigration advocacy groups also attended the event, and echoed the congressmen's urgency.

''This is an unlivable situation, with the raids, the detentions and the deportations,'' said Jose Lagos, the head of Honduran Unity. ``This hurts our economy and it hurts our community, and we can't continue like this.''

The legislators and advocates were also very critical of a recently announced Bush administration proposal to dramatically raise the fees for immigrants applying for citizenship or temporary work permits. Comprehensive immigration reform could alleviate the need to raise the rates by providing millions of dollars in new fines as undocumented immigrants from across the country go through the steps to legalize their status, the congressmen said.

''This hike is unfair,'' said Lincoln Diaz-Balart. ``I think it is appropriate to wait a year or more before hurting the working immigrants of this country and raising fees in this scandalous manner.''

A Senate proposal that would have legalized millions of undocumented immigrants became stalled in Congress last year. Instead, the president signed into law a U.S. House proposal to build a fence along part of the U.S.-Mexico border.

South Florida's three Republican members of Congress -- as well as the region's six House Democrats -- support the legalization proposal. Incoming House Speaker Nancy Pelosi did not include immigration on her list of priorities for the first 100 hours of the new Congress, though immigrant advocates are hopeful that Democrats will take up legislation on it soon. ''Temporary Protected Status'' is a humanitarian program that allows undocumented nationals to remain in the United States legally because of natural disasters, such as earthquakes, or other crises in their homeland. However, it is not a path to permanent residence, and the U.S. government must renew the designation every year or so for qualified Salvadorans, Hondurans and Nicaraguans to be able to stay here. There is no TPS program for Haitians, although advocates say Haitians have had to deal with several crises in their impoverished country.