Haitians in U.S. Illegally Slow to Seek Protected Status

March 9, 2010— -- Only 15 percent of the estimated 200,000 Haitians living in the United states illegally have taken advantage of a controversial Obama administration initiative that would allow them to live and work freely here until conditions in Haiti improve.

The number has surprised advocates on both sides of the immigration debate, many of whom had anticipated a crush of undocumented Haitians applying for the program after it was announced Jan. 15.

Supporters had hailed the move as necessary to helping Haitians rebuild their country, while opponents said the influx of legal workers would increase competition for U.S. jobs.

As of March 8, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security had processed 30,922 application packages received for "temporary protective status," or TPS.

"Based on the numbers projected by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service … the number is really low," said Jojo Annobil of the Legal Aid Society of New York, a group helping Haitians apply.

Across the country, Haitian community groups and several members of Congress had urged quick implementation of TPS for Haitians in the wake of January's quake, calling it an act of compassion and common sense.

But nearly two months later, tens of thousands of Haitians appear to be skeptical of a program that would give them work and travel rights in the United States.

"I thought more people would have applied by now," said Cheryl Little, executive director of the Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center. "They seem to be hindered by the three F's -- fees, fear and fraud."

Little says the $470 cost of the application, complicated legalese on government forms, third-party scams to fleece extra cash from applicants and a pervasive fear of deportation have kept many Haitians from coming out of the shadows.

"Haitians are not too sure what they are getting themselves into," Annobil said. "They worry that providing information that the government doesn't have already could put them at risk for deportation at a later date."

When asked whether the' fears are well-founded, Department of Homeland Security spokesman Matt Chandler said the agency's enforcement priority remains "criminal aliens," or those immigrants with criminal convictions.

"Haitian nationals who are in the U.S. illegally are encouraged to apply for TPS in order to avail themselves of the important benefits provided," Chandler said. "Those in the U.S. without proper documentation who do not apply...only continue to be ineligible to work in this country and remain at risk of poential enforcement action."

A Push From Both Sides to Register Undocumented Haitians

Haitians without a criminal record and living in the United States illegally prior to Jan. 12 are eligible to apply for TPS through July 20.

"If you don't get your foot in the door now, you're out of luck," said Little.

By law, TPS is only granted for 18 months, after which registered foreign nationals are ordered to return to their home countries. The status can be extended, however, and in several cases, including El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua, it has lasted for more than a decade.

That has troubled immigration control groups, as well as some conservative members of Congress, who have opposed TPS for Haitians, saying it amounts to a slippery slope toward amnesty.

"There is no 'T' in TPS," said Roy Beck, president of anti-immigration group NumbersUSA, an immigration-reduction group that supported a temporary suspension of deportations but not giving Haitians work rights. "You'd think [Haitians] would be jumping at the opportunity for TPS. This is a form of amnesty."

Beck said he's surprised that only 10 percent of eligible immigrants have applied for TPS, but speculated the relatively low number suggests many Haitians have "already figured out how to game the system," obtaining jobs without the official status.

"Something has spread through those communities that's told them the benefit [of TPS] isn't worth the inherent risk," Beck said.

If there's one thing on which Beck and supporters of TPS can agree, it's the importance of registering as many Haitians as possible, albeit for different reasons.

"You identify yourself, you give your fingerprints, and the way it's supposed to work is 18 months from now they know who you are," Beck said.

But Annobil said Haitians needn't fear providing their personal information. In the end, he said, having the ability to earn a higher wage will be good for immigrants and their families as well as U.S. taxpayers and Haiti, as it rebuilds.

Groups Say TPS Will Help Rebuild Haiti

"It's not an amnesty because it's temporary, and [Haitians] are paying for it," Annobil said. "It saves the American taxpayer, allows these people to help rebuild their own country [through remittances]."

Donna Gann, an immigration adviser with Catholic Charities of Nashville, Tenn., said, "The concern is high" to get more people enrolled. "Most Haitian citizens are more concerned for the care and safety of their families over in Haiti. They want to send as much money home as they possibly can."

But money flowing out of the United States to Haiti, while another channel of foreign aid, isn't good news to activists such as Beck.

"It's regressive foreign aid," he said. "That means most jobs and remittances are taken at the expense of our poorest American workers."

Administration Expects Late Rush to Apply

Previous TPS designations have received mixed responses from the undocumented communities living illegally in the U.S. at the time, according to DHS historical data.

In 1999, of the estimated 100,000 Hondurans living illegally in the U.S. and eligible for TPS, roughly the same number applied for and received the protection within the registration period.

However, only 4,200 of the estimated 70,000 eligible Nicaraguans applied for the status in the same year. And in the case of El Salvador, the U.S. estimate of 150,000 aliens eligible for TPS was exceeded when 277,000 Salvadoran applications were processed that year.

"[Applying for TPS] is very similar to tax filing," said Annobil. "You always get a rush at the beginning and then there is kind of a lull and then getting to April 15, everybody is up and about and wanting to file. I think you're going to see something similar for Haitians and TPS."