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29010: Hermantin(Editorial)ISSUE: HAITIANS IN AMERICA MEET REQUIREMENTS FOR TPS. (fwd)




From: leonie hermantin <lhermantin@hotmail.com>

Sun Sentinel Editorial


IMMIGRATION




August 25, 2006



IMMIGRATION

ISSUE: HAITIANS IN AMERICA MEET REQUIREMENTS FOR TPS.

Efforts to build a prosperous Haiti could get a needed boost if the United States would grant thousands of Haitians in America temporary protective status, or TPS.

U.S. law provides for TPS designation to people who flee their homeland after a natural disaster or at times of "extraordinary and temporary conditions." Haitians, who have been hit by hurricanes as well as political storms, qualify on both counts.

By granting TPS, those Haitians already in the United States could avoid deportation, and detention, and instead get access to work permits and permission to travel abroad. TPS benefits are granted for 12 months to 18 months, so they are not a path to permanent residency or status.

TPS isn't available to people living abroad. So it's not an open invitation to flee to America.

Washington bestowed TPS on Central Americans after Hurricane Mitch in the late 1990s. The U.S. government has also granted TPS protection to Somalis and Sudanese who can't return to their countries because of political strife.

Haitians, who have experienced their share of tempests, should be included on the list. Despite the hope offered by the election of a new government, led by President René Préval, Haiti faces a tough uphill challenge to rebuild social institutions and develop a functional economy.

Deporting Haitians from America could undermine Haiti's progress. Haiti would benefit more if these individuals could remain in America for the moment, working and sending dollars to loved ones back home.

Haitians meet the requirements for TPS, and there is plenty of support in Congress and the South Florida community for giving them coverage. But Haiti must first ask that its citizens in America be included.

President Préval should so ASAP.

BOTTOM LINE: PRÉVAL SHOULD ASK FOR TPS, AND WASHINGTON SHOULD GRANT IT.
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