Illegal immigrants who lost relatives in 9/11 may get legal status
Illegal immigrants who lost relatives in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks may be able to get temporary legal status after federal officials cleared the way for them to apply without risking deportation.
By Agencies |
NEW YORK: Illegal immigrants who lost relatives in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks may be able to get temporary legal status after federal officials cleared the way for them to apply without risking deportation.
The plan, which emerged Thursday, could end years of limbo for about 25 people whose spouses or parents died in the attacks. They have gotten payments averaging $2.1 million from the federal Sept. 11 Victim Compensation Fund, but they have lived under a legal cloud and had trouble investing the proceeds because they were in the country illegally, their lawyers say.
Their status has made their attorneys hesitant even to provide information to immigration authorities and Congressional representatives working on the issue, said one of the lawyers, Debra Brown Steinberg.
The federal Department of Homeland Security will consider giving the relatives a temporary humanitarian parole that would let them live and work in the United States, Assistant Secretary Stewart A. Baker told Steinberg in a letter. The agency will let the applicants provide their biographical information and immigration histories with assurances that the data will not be used to deport them, he wrote.
``These families share an experience with the American people that is among the most significant in American history,'' Baker told The New York Times in an interview Thursday. ``We felt they deserved an opportunity to make their case in the most effective way.''
Applicants with criminal records, ties to terrorism or formal deportation orders would not be eligible for the parole, Baker wrote. Steinberg said most, perhaps all, of the relatives would qualify.
A proposal to grant permanent residency to the illegal-immigrant relatives stalled in Congress last year. Some Republican members of the House of Representatives said they did not have enough information about the relatives and raised concerns about the possibility of giving legal status to criminals or terrorists.
The plan, which emerged Thursday, could end years of limbo for about 25 people whose spouses or parents died in the attacks. They have gotten payments averaging $2.1 million from the federal Sept. 11 Victim Compensation Fund, but they have lived under a legal cloud and had trouble investing the proceeds because they were in the country illegally, their lawyers say.
Their status has made their attorneys hesitant even to provide information to immigration authorities and Congressional representatives working on the issue, said one of the lawyers, Debra Brown Steinberg.
The federal Department of Homeland Security will consider giving the relatives a temporary humanitarian parole that would let them live and work in the United States, Assistant Secretary Stewart A. Baker told Steinberg in a letter. The agency will let the applicants provide their biographical information and immigration histories with assurances that the data will not be used to deport them, he wrote.
``These families share an experience with the American people that is among the most significant in American history,'' Baker told The New York Times in an interview Thursday. ``We felt they deserved an opportunity to make their case in the most effective way.''
Applicants with criminal records, ties to terrorism or formal deportation orders would not be eligible for the parole, Baker wrote. Steinberg said most, perhaps all, of the relatives would qualify.
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A proposal to grant permanent residency to the illegal-immigrant relatives stalled in Congress last year. Some Republican members of the House of Representatives said they did not have enough information about the relatives and raised concerns about the possibility of giving legal status to criminals or terrorists.
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