TPS: Haiti’s illegal immigrants given temporary protection in US – ALIPAC objects as usual

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 elsewhere” but that “attempting to leave Haiti now will only bring more hardship to the Haitian people and nation.”

She also said returning illegal immigrants from Haiti would put their “personal safety” at risk.

TPS is typically extended to immigrants from countries – such as El Salvador, Honduras, Somalia, and Nicaragua – where sudden conflict or disaster has prevented them from returning safely.

On Wednesday, US immigration officials temporarily halted the removal of some 30,000 illegal Haitians awaiting deportation. France, Canada, and the Dominican Republic are taking similar steps to ease their immigrations rules in light of the disaster.

“Extending this mantle of protection to struggling Haiti is not only appropriate, but a just, compassionate, and concrete step the United States can take toward alleviating the human suffering of the Haitian people,” wrote Cardinal Francis George of Chicago, president of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, in a letter to the White House.

Indiana Sen. Richard Lugar (R) supports the decision as well as does Sen. Bill Nelson (D) of Florida.

“This is the right thing to do. Haitian immigrants already in the U.S. will not only be able to make money to support themselves, but also to send remittances to their suffering families back in Haiti,” Senator Nelson said in a statement Friday.

THE ANTI-IMMIGRANT FACTION HAS MIXED REACTIONS

In a surprising statement, Dan Stein, president of the anti-immigrant nativist group Federation for American Immigration Reform, told USA Today that he supports the move. He did say, however, that the TPS status should be terminated once the crisis is over.

However, Mark Krikorian, executive director for the Center for Immigration Studies, wrote on the conservative National Review Online that once TSP is granted, it often becomes amnesty. “As far as I’ve been able to determine, not a single person who has ever been granted this ‘temporary’ status has later been deported.”

Both organizations are part of John Tantons network with strong ties to white supremacist groups.

ALIPAC’s Willy Gheen’s unwanted opinion was gleaned from one of his annoying press releases by ABC news.

“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.

And talk about compassion for a country who has lost as many as 500,000 lives to the earthquake, Gheen’s handful of followers parrot their peerless leader.

Here is some examples:

YEA WILLIAM!!!……………….

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. …………………………..

I oppose the temporary status and believe they all need to be deported back to Haiti on schedule. 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 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………………………………….

What irks me is that the entire country is not destroyed due to an earthquake or storm….only portions are destroyed. People in the destroyed part of the country should be relocated to other parts of the same country. ………………………

Yep! A real compassionate and Christian bunch over at ALIPAC.

Related posts:

1. ALIPAC using the usual lies to spread fear in the minds of their elderly victims, er, donors
2. Crossing the Line – ALIPAC President William Gheen calls for “Extra Violent Political Activities”
3. The Year in Hate & Extremism, 2010 – ALIPAC makes the list