Haitians already in US when earthquake hit get 6 more months to apply for temporary stay

Haitians get 6 more months to apply to stay in US

MIAMI — As Haiti marked the six month of struggle after a catastrophic earthquake, the U.S. on Monday gave Haitians more time to apply to legally stay and work here so they can support the rebuilding efforts.

Haitians already living in the U.S. illegally when the earthquake struck Jan. 12 now have until January to apply for temporary protected status, which allows immigrants from countries experiencing armed conflict or environmental disasters to stay and work in the U.S. for 18 months.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Director Alejandro Mayorkas announced the deadline extension to immigration attorneys and Haitian community advocates who had said their clients could not pay fees totaling $470 or overcome their fears of U.S. authorities before the original July 20 due date.

“We are dealing with individuals in this country, many of whom have suffered tremendous loss in their lives as a result of the tragic earthquake — loss of family, loss of loved ones beyond family, the loss of life savings, the loss of homes — and we are ever mindful of that as we make our decisions as to what humanitarian relief we are able to provide,” Mayorkas said.

Roughly 35,500 Haitians so far have been granted temporary protected status, out of about 55,000 applications — more than half of which have been filed in Florida.

The government expects 70,000 to 100,000 Haitians to apply before January.

Advocates applauded Mayorkas’ announcement, saying the deadline extension gives them more time to reach immigrants who fear that alerting the U.S. government to their presence will lead to prison or deportation.

“The people who haven’t applied face certain challenges — they don’t have the money, they have some issues in their background that make them fearful to come forward or they’re so embedded in the underground world that we’re going to have to do intense outreach, and that’s what we’ll do with these extra days and weeks and months,” said Randy McGrorty, head of the Archdiocese of Miami’s Catholic Legal Services.

About 1,200 applicants have been denied temporary protected status because they arrived after the earthquake or had criminal records that made them ineligible, Mayorkas said.

Immigration officials urged Haitians who arrived after the earthquake to consider applying to extend the visas they used to evacuate Haiti, or apply for deferred action, which also would allow them to work in the U.S.

Mayorkas said the administration also was reviewing the issue of 55,000 Haitians who have approval to join family members living legally in the U.S. but are waiting for travel documents. Community advocates have pushed U.S. officials to speed up their departures from Haiti.

The U.S. granted temporary protected status to Haitians after a magnitude-7 earthquake leveled much of Haiti’s capital and killed as many as 300,000 people. Haitians who miss the deadline will not be able to apply again if the U.S. renews the reprieve for Haiti. The government has for more than a decade renewed reprieves for Central American countries that had to rebuild after a 1998 hurricane.

Since the earthquake struck six months ago Monday, the U.S. also temporarily stopped deporting Haitians, even those in detention. About 31,000 Haitians have orders to leave, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Haitian migrants caught at sea by the U.S. Coast Guard continue to be returned to their homeland. More than 600 have been returned since October.