For Haitians in the U.S. Illegally, Some Help

NY Times
Kirk Semple 

Two years ago, at age 17, Stephanie Germain arrived in New York from Haiti, overstayed her tourist visa and slipped into the parallel universe of the illegal immigrant. While she managed to learn English, graduate from high school and enroll in Queensborough Community College, her immigration status ensured that she would have to live largely out of the government’s view.

On Thursday, however, she took her first tentative steps out of the shadows, attending a free legal clinic concerning the special immigration status the Obama administration has offered to Haitians living illegally in the United States.

The new designation, called temporary protected status and announced on Jan. 15, three days after the earthquake in Haiti, protects recipients from deportation for 18 months and allows them to work. The status is offered from time to time to immigrants who are unable to return safely to their home countries because of armed conflict or natural disasters.

Ms. Germain, who has been living with her godfather in Richmond Hill, Queens, and receiving financial support from her parents back in Port-au-Prince, viewed the opportunity as nothing less than a release, albeit temporary, from a kind of imprisonment. “This allows me to live!” she exclaimed happily. “I can work, I can take care of myself, I can go to school.”

The government has estimated that the designation could cover at least 100,000 Haitians believed to be living in the United States illegally, in addition to about 30,000 Haitians who have already been ordered deported.

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