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LIMAP
Thursday, November 08, 2007 |
Email: Editor@limap.org |
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Liberians in Minnesota pulling for their piece of
immigration reform |
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June 07,2007 |
BROOKLYN PARK, Minnesota (AP) - The
size of Liberian Abdullah Kiatamba's
extended family in
Minnesota could shrink come October,
when a special refugee designation
that has let them stay in the United
States expires.
«I have 10 family members in
Minnesota who might have to go,»
Kiatamba said Thursday, extending
all of his fingers in the air. «Ten!
And five more living in other
states.
Liberians have been living in the
U.S. for nearly two decades because
of civil war back home, but after
elections in 2005 and modest signs
that the west African country is
stabilizing, the Department of
Homeland Security is lifting an
immigration designation _ the
Temporary Protected Status _ that
has allowed many Liberians to remain
here.
Many, however, do not want to return
yet, worried about their security
and job prospects, and are lobbying
for more time.
«One day I would like to return and
make a contribution,» Kiatamba, the
chairman of the Organization of
Liberians in Minnesota, said from
his townhouse in this Minneapolis
suburb. «But when? How? Liberia is
still going through a huge recovery.
The infrastructure doesn't have the
capacity to absorb everybody.
There's no educational system. The
political system is still being
developed.
While Congress focuses on a sweeping
immigration bill that would tighten
border security and rein in illegal
immigration, Liberians and their
advocates in Minnesota hope to draw
attention to a small piece of
legislation that would extend their
stay in the U.S. after their refugee
status runs out Oct. 1.
A «Liberian Solidarity Week» planned
in Minnesota for the final week of
June will include an appeal to
lawmakers in the state and across
the U.S. who represent pockets of
Liberians, including in Philadelphia
and Providence, Rhode Island.
«There are some doubts and concerns
and fears that people in Congress
will not take time off to focus on
our bill,» Kiatamba said. «The
Liberian community still needs to
make the case to the American
people» that they should be allowed
to remain in the country.
Democratic Rep. Keith Ellison, the
first Muslim in Congress, is a
co-sponsor of a House of
Representatives bill that would
extend the TPS designation, which
allows refugees to remain in the
U.S. as long as their home countries
are unstable _ due to either war or
environmental disaster. A similar
bill has been introduced in the
Senate.
«Like any legislation, it needs
strong advocates so that it gets the
time it deserves,» said Amber
Shipley, an aide to Ellison. «For my
boss, it is a huge priority. It will
be something that he advocates
strongly.
«Other people can talk about border
security, but we know the importance
of this issue,» she said.
The Department of Homeland Security
has said about 3,600 Liberians are
living in the U.S. under TPS, though
activists claim there are thousands
more. As many as 25,000 Liberians
live in Minnesota, though
demographers are not sure of the
population's size.
«For each person affected by TPS,
there's a relational effect with
their children or spouses or other
family members,» Kiatamba said.
«This will affect thousands in
Minnesota alone.
It is possible the sweeping reform
bill could solve the problem for
Liberians by extending legalization
to people currently living in the
country with a TPS designation,
according to the Washington-based
National Immigration Forum, an
immigrant advocate group. But that
bill has yet to take final form and
faces more contentious debate,
leaving Liberians and their
advocates to push for their own
legislation.
Michele Garnett McKenzie, of the
group Minnesota Advocates for Human
Rights, said time is running low for
Liberians living under the TPS
designation.
«We are concerned about the time _
concerned that amid all the
immigration debate it's not going to
be on legislators' radar. It's
really small potatoes compared with
comprehensive reform.
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Source: www.pr-inside.com |
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