Temporary US asylum could be offered to 200000 Haitians

A senior official with the immigration department in the United States has this week said that some 200,000 who currently reside in America may be eligible for temporary asylum status following the devastating earthquake in their home country.

The director of the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Alejandro Mayorkas told reporters on Tuesday that an estimated 100,000 to 200,000 Haitians are currently estimated to be in the US. Last week amid the aftermath of the tragedy the US government said that those Haitians who did not have the necessary documents for immigration protection would be offered shelter under the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) program.

TPS status allows any foreign national to remain inside the US for a period of up to 18 months with no fears of any deportation. At the end of this period they would also be entitled to an individual case review that may lead to a temporary work permit. According to government statistics there are presently around 1.2 million Haitian nationals living legally in the US.

Mayorkas did however point out that such status would only be afforded to Haitians who were already living inside the US before the earthquake struck and that any attempts to cross the US border by illegal means would be met with a swift response and repatriation.

Applications are expected to begin flowing this week, with Haitian communities in Miami, Orlando and New York all expected to feature heavily. A TPS application will cost $130 or a work permit $470 although free waivers are also available for the very poor.