JFON NETWORK UPDATE

Haitian TPS Clinics

JFON NY, in partnership with Church World Service, Brooklyn Jubilee and NY Disaster Interfaith Services, is hosting three Haitian TPS clinics in the NY metro area. Due to capacity constraints, these clinics will only serve those who do not also need to file an I-601 (Waiver of grounds of inadmissibility). However, by recruiting and training volunteer attorneys and law students, JFON NY hopes to serve as many Haitian clients as possible.

The first clinic, held February 17th at the Interchurch Center, attracted 21 clients and engaged seven volunteers. The second clinic was held on February 26th at St. Jerome’s Roman Catholic Church in Brooklyn and the third will be held in March 4th at St. Marks UMC in Brooklyn. For more information contact mailto:spezua@gmail.com, 212-987-9705 or 646-575-7983.

JFON Florida is in planning four TPS clinics in the Tampa Bay and Orlando areas. The first took place on February 27th at St. Luke's UMC in Orlando. For more information about these clinics, please call (407) 896-2230 ext 105.

Iowa JFON Creating Sustainability

In the past, Gary Walters and Trina Scott Zuor –Iowa JFON Regional Attorneys – worked from offices 150 miles apart. In February, JFON IA brought them together and officially consolidated their offices in Des Moines. This move, in addition to significantly reducing their annual budget, creates a better support system for these two young attorneys as they face the challenges of serving clients. It also enables work-sharing to ensure that neither is overworked and all their clients receive the best service possible.

This new configuration enables them to bring on board Grisell Herrera as their new full-time office administrator. Grisell, who came to the United States a year ago in search of freedom under the Cuban Adjustment Act, is looking forward to assisting the attorneys as they help clients work their way through the complicated immigration system.

“I am happy for the opportunity to work with a program that is helping other immigrants,” Grisell said, “because I share some of the same experiences, and I can empathize with them.”

MARCH FOR AMERICA: Change Takes Courage & Faith – March 21, 2010 2-5pm at the National Mall

Join us to encourage Immigration Reform in 2010!

On March 21, in coordination with the Ecumenical Advocacy Days conference, we plan to gather tens of thousands of people of all faiths for a demonstration of our unified support for just, humane immigration reform that keeps families together.

And if you are coming to DC, consider also attending the Ecumenical Advocacy Days conference, March 19-22! As part of the movement of the ecumenical Christian community its recognized partners and allies, Ecumenica Advocacy Days is grounded in biblical witness and shared traditions of justice, peace and the integrity of creation. This year’s theme is “A Place to Call Home: Immigrants, Refugees, and Displaced Peoples”. There are a number of speakers slated, including Bishop Carcaño of the Desert Southwest Annual Conference, and very pertinent workshop options. For more information and to register, please visit their website.

New Studies Confirm Positive Impact Of Immigration On Wages Of Native-Born Workers

The Economic Policy Institute (EPI) recently released a new study, Immigration and Wages, that found: " immigration has a small but positive impact on the wages of native-born workers overall." This report comes on the heels of other economic reports from across the ideological spectrum that explain how comprehensive immigration reform lifts the wages of U.S. workers, increases tax revenue and boosts consumer purchasing power. View the full report or read a summary.

Houston Police Strives To Regain Immigrants’ Trust in Wake of Talks Around 287(g)

Last spring, the city of Houston, Tex. proposed participating in ICE’s 287(g) immigrant screening program, which would allow law enforcement personnel to question a person’s immigration status if they have a legitimate reason for stopping and questioning them on another matter. The proposal was eventually abandoned in favor of another ICE partnership, Secure Communities, which conducts automated immigration checks on all suspects booked into the city's jails. The Houston Police Department (HPD) is embarking on a large-scale public outreach campaign to restore trust within immigrant communities in the hopes of encouraging them to report crimes and assist in investigations. Sgt. Brian Harris of HPD explains, “As a cop who investigates murders, you've got to deal with the dignity of human life, so our job as truth-seekers is to find out what happened to this person. So we have to … treat the people we deal with dignity, and hopefully in return … they'll start taking ownership for the events and things that happen around us, whether they're legal or not.” Read More.

REPORT: “Many Happy Returns: Remittances And Their Impact”

The Immigration Policy Center released a new report in February showing that remittances – monies that immigrants send home to help their relatives – not only benefit the receiving countries’ economy but in fact help boost the U.S. economy as well. The report, Many Happy Returns: Remittances and Their Impact, concludes that remittances “boost the consumption of U.S. exports, resulting in expansion of U.S. business and trade competitiveness. Ultimately, sending money abroad expands the consumer base able to purchase U.S. goods, a critical facet in maintaining a strong U.S. economy.”

From Haiti

Patrick Guiteau,* of Gonaives, Haiti, was an active member of the Fanmi Lavalas political party in the 1990’s. As a result of his activism, he became the target of an opposing Haitian paramilitary force.

One Sunday in August 1998, the threats against Patrick came to a head when his family home was invaded and threats were made against his life to his sister, Laurette*. Afraid and concerned for her brother’s safety, Laurette immediately went to the church where Patrick was attending service and gave him money to take a bus to Port-Au-Prince. Patrick was found and attacked in Port-au-Prince. The group threatened to kill him if he did not stop his political activities.

Patrick fled Haiti in November 1998 and arrived as a stowaway in Florida on December 14th. Patrick became subject to the US’s strict penalties against stowaways – which imposes a lifetime bar preventing stowaways from receiving benefits in the US including immigration benefits. Patrick’s application for asylum based on his fear of reprisals by the paramilitary force was denied and he was subsequently ordered deported in 2001. Because of his fear of returning to Haiti, Patrick ignored this order and became a fugitive.

Some years later, Patrick met and married Lucsenda*, a U.S. Citizen and became step-father to her three children. In 2007, Patrick sought assistance at a JFON New York clinic to inquire whether his citizen spouse could file a petition on his behalf. Because of his lifetime ban under the existing laws, there was nothing JFON could do to assist him at that time.

In July 2009, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) located Patrick, raided his home and placed him in detention pending deportation. President Obama had begun conversations in February 2009 about extending Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to Haitians after the island nation suffered a series of storms and hurricanes. Because of this process, Patrick was only detained for about 1 week before being released on an order of supervision.

TPS was finally extended to Haitians after the devastating earthquake on January 12, 2010. Patrick, who lost two cousins in the quake, has once again sought help from JFON New York in filing his TPS application and a I-601 (Waiver of grounds of inadmissibility) due to his stowaway status. With TPS, Patrick will be authorized to reside in the US for as long as the Haitian TPS program is in effect and would no longer need to fear deportation. With TPS, Patrick will become eligible to receive work authorization which will enable him to secure a full-time position so that he can better support his family.

However, TPS will not help Patrick in realizing his long-lived dream of visit the family he left behind over two decades ago. Even with TPS, Patrick will continue to be subject to penalties for stowaways, which state that if he were to travel outside the US, he would receive a 10-year bar.

*Not their real name.