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For Years, U.S. Has Renewed Amnesty for 312,000
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With prospects for sweeping immigration change now uncertain, immigrant advocates say families with temporary protected status should be allowed to become permanent U.S. residents because for years, they have put down roots and followed stringent rules, paid processing fees and undergone background checks.
"It doesn't make any sense," said Saul Solorzano, executive director of the Central American Resource Center in Northwest Washington, where hundreds of immigrants, including Villalobos, have been filling out forms this month to re-register for temporary protected status.
"This is the right time to let them all adjust their status and close the chapter in a good way," he said.
Instead, Solorzano and other immigrant advocates are asking that all Central Americans with temporary legal status be given the same rights to permanent residency that a 1997 amnesty granted to thousands of Cubans and Nicaraguans, on grounds that they had fled leftist regimes.
At a recent rally on the Capitol lawn supporting immigration reform, several workmen from El Salvador and Honduras said that they were grateful to be living here under temporary protected status but that it was hard to be away from their families for so many years. Under the rules, no foreign travel is allowed unless there is an emergency.
Villalobos, who grew up farming corn and beans in Honduras, came to the United States illegally 11 years ago and has not seen his children since. He explained how he had carefully built a life here, staying out of trouble and working overtime at a variety of jobs to save money.
He said that his village was not affected by Hurricane Mitch but that a combination of poverty, crime and inflation has made life for his family there a dangerous daily struggle.
Villalobos said that an "honest person" can earn only about $4 a day in Honduras, where a pound of beans costs about $2. "There is nothing left over for the doctor or school clothes, and there are so many thieves you can't even wear a watch," he said.
"In this country, everything is tranquil and orderly, and there are so many opportunities. I miss my family, but they tell me: 'Please don't come home. We need you to stay in America.' "
