BRADENTON HERALD April 27, 2006
Immigrants hope reforms include all ethnic groups MANATEE - Weeks passed by and Xiomara Acosta had yet to hear news from her family. A Category-5 hurricane had swept through the Central American country of Honduras in October 1998. From Florida, all she could hear on the Spanish-language nightly news were the accounts of the estimated 6,500 people reported dead in her native country due to Hurricane Mitch. All she could see were the small towns in the rural countryside wiped out by flooding. Her daughter Vivian, 4 years old at the time, was living with Acosta's relatives in the city of Tela, and all Acosta could think about was her daughter's safety. "She's my daughter and I wanted to make sure I could see her grow up," Acosta said. Eventually she was able to bring her now 12-year-old daughter to the United States, and the two live in Bradenton. Acosta is one of several people living in the area from Honduras, El Salvador and Nicaragua who were eligible for a "temporary protected status" from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, which granted temporary residency for those harmed by the hurricane. Still, for Acosta that temporary status only brings partial relief. "It's like you have temporary peace of mind," Acosta said. "But in the back of your mind you still feel as though time is working against you." As talks of immigration law echoes across the country, many immigrant groups question how immigration reform may affect policies specific to their groups. Along with the three Central American countries, immigrants from Somalia, Sudan, Burundi and Liberia also qualify for the temporary protected status because of political turmoil in those nations. Cubans have long benefitted from the Cuban Adjustment Act, which states that as long as a Cuban immigrant touches U.S. land they will not be sent back to Cuba. Only if they are intercepted at sea will they be returned. Many in the Haitian community say the act should apply to them as well. When it comes to immigration policies for Haitians, Guy Francois, a pastor at the First Haitian Baptist Church in Palmetto, said there is only one of which he is aware. "Deportation," Francois said. "That's the government's only policy for Haitians." Similar to the exodus of Cuban rafters attempting to reach Florida shores, Haitians have also attempted to emigrate to America. But they are not protected by the same "wet foot/dry foot" policy that assures Cubans who touch American soil an opportunity to apply for permanent residency. For the month of April, as of Wednesday, 43 Haitians had been interdicted at sea by the U.S. Coast Guard, according to the service's Alien Migrant Interdiction Web site. For 2005 the Coast Guard reports that 1,850 Haitians were intercepted at sea attempting to come to the United States. Factors such as poverty and political turmoil have led many people to flee, and Francois fears that Haitians are being excluded from the larger talks on immigration reform. "They're feeling that some of these rules will only be advantageous for Mexicans," Francois said of Haitian reaction to the immigration debate. "They wonder if it will extend to other ethnic groups. If it doesn't work out that way they will feel really left out. No one has ever worked for their benefit." Gabriela Kepecz, a Sarasota-based immigration attorney, said she understands the concerns of the Haitian community. "With the Cuban Adjustment Act, Cubans can become lawful permanent residents within a year," Kepecz said. "With TPS those hit by hurricanes also get a chance, but Haitians don't have any of that. In my opinion, it's very unfair." As Latino-based groups across the country organize marches and rallies, Francois said organizations should also reach out to other immigrant communities. "They don't have anything to lose, and everything to gain," Francois said. "They should make their appeal to the Asian immigrants, to the Haitian immigrants, to all immigrants." Some of the immigration legislation being discussed includes creating a guest worker program that would allow people to come into the United States to work in the agricultural sectors. But some Haitians worry that type of guest worker program would only benefit those who could cross the physical border between the United States and Mexico and not the ocean between Haiti and the United States. "Our biggest concern is that any new law should be equal opportunity," said the Rev. Julio Volcy with the Haitian ministry of the Theophile Church in Christ.
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