USA: No to Guatemala TPS

Well you can say this about the Bush administration: at least they're consistent in demonstrating their disregard for disaster victims and the poor.

Whether it's Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans or Hurricane Stan in Guatemala, you can rest assured that some Bush administration official will eventually make a well-publicized tour of the disaster area, and then not offer aid or assistance.

Given the season, it reminds me of the Grinch story... only without the heart-growing transformation at the end.

Yesterday, three weeks before Christmas, Karen Hughes, U.S. Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, toured the areas in the Guatemalan countryside that were devastated by Stan's floods and mudslides.

She must have witnessed the immense destruction of homes, crops, schools, hospitals, roads and bridges... losses estimated at over $1 billion dollars.

She must have read the reports about the Guatemala's "hunger time bomb": the fact that some 285,000 victims could be facing starvation conditions by this Christmas.

She must know that Guatemala's main source of income is not coffee, sugar, or tourism but rather the remittances that Guatemalan immigrants in the U.S. send to their families back home.

And surely she must have realized that the humane and compassionate course of action for the Bush administration would be to grant Temporary Protected Status so that those immigrants could continue to provide the funds necessary for rebuilding homes, communities, and lives.

You would think, right?

Instead, Ms. Hughes immediately held a press conference to announce that the U.S government would not be offering TPS protection to Guatemalan immigrants.

And you're not going to believe why they're not going to help:

Hughes pointed out that the United States couldn't agree to the request, due to the fact that the government "had already spent so much money strengthening our borders" to keep illegal immigrants out.

Hughes anuncia que EEUU no concederá TPS a Guatemala, Terra.com

There is so much I'd like to say right now, yet most of it can be summed up in the following refrain:

You're a foul one, Mr. Grinch.
You're a nasty, wasty skunk.
Your heart is full of unwashed socks
Your soul is full of gunk.
Mr. Grinch.

The three words that best describe you,
are, and I quote: "Stink. Stank. Stunk."

You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch, by Dr. Seuss

Finally, I'd like to share a simply eloquent editorial from the Palm Beach Post, outlining the many positive reasons that the Bush Administration should approve the TPS:

Since the nation's beginning, the United States has a history of providing safe haven to immigrants fleeing danger. Besides granting asylum to refugees who seek protection from political persecution, the government also has given shelter to hundreds of thousands of immigrants displaced by natural disasters.

In 1990, Congress passed a "temporary protected status" (TPS) statute that permits foreign nationals — documented or not — to stay in the country legally for specific periods of time to avoid dangerous situations in their homelands.

The Department of Homeland Security, through its Bureau of Citizenship and Immigrations Services, can grant TPS relief to protect immigrants from armed conflicts, natural disasters or other extraordinary, temporary conditions. For example, the U.S. gave temporary protection to Montserrat nationals after the volcano eruption in 1998 and to Honduras and Nicaragua the same year because of Hurricane Mitch. The Bush administration gave TPS to about 250,000 Salvadorans after two earthquakes rocked the country four years ago.

After Hurricane Stan devastated the country last month, Guatemala petitioned the Department of Homeland Security for TPS relief for citizens living in the United States. The Bush administration should grant the request.

Stan killed more than 1,000 Guatemalans and buried villages in mudslides. One of the hemisphere's poorest nations must rebuild and feed itself. The Bush administration sent food, medical supplies and military helicopters. But the best long-term aid is the temporary protected status that would allow Guatemalans to work here for the next 12 to 18 months without fear of deportation.

Guatemalans, most of them Mayans, are helping South Florida recover from Hurricane Wilma. They are fixing roofs, clearing debris and replanting fields. Most are illegal, but their contributions to the Florida economy are essential. The remittances they send back to Guatemala are also essential to rehabilitating their country.

About 20,000 Guatemalans living in South Florida have signed petitions urging the Bush administration to grant TPS. While the status does allow immigrants to work here legally, it carries no permanent benefits, does not permit travel and can be revoked for violations of law. Because it requires individual applications, TPS would enhance national security by creating a registry — with addresses and phone numbers — of the Guatemalans. It also could serve as a test of the guest worker plan the nation needs.

Support for TPS relief in Palm Beach County and the Treasure Coast has come from the American Jewish Committee, Catholic Charities, Corn Maya and the Organization of the Mayan People in Exile.

The Mayan population in South Florida took root as refugees came to escape the genocide of a 36-year civil war that the U.S. government helped to foster. The Bush administration can help repair hurricane damage in two countries by letting Guatemala's refugees work legally.

Palm Beach Post Editorial. November 20, 2005

Tags: Guatemala, TPS, Temporary Protected Status, Stan, Immigration

Posted by elcanche at December 6, 2005 11:03 PM