President says Salvadorans can stay, temporarily

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April 2001

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President says Salvadorans can stay, temporarily
Salvadorans illegally in the United States can remain, for now, says President Bush. March 2 the president agreed to grant Salvadoran immigrants "temporary protected status," allowing them to stay in the U.S. for up to 18 months. El Salvador has recently been rocked by two major earthquakes.

El Salvador's President Francisco Flores requested the status while meeting with Bush at the White House. The Central American country was wracked by a series of earthquakes killing, wounding, or displacing more than 1.5 million in January and February. Flores argued the money Salvadorans in the United States could send home would be as important as official U.S. aid.

"This will allow them to continue to work here and to remit some of their wages back home to support El Salvador's recovery efforts," Bush said in a statement to the press. He also agreed to send $52 million to assist reconstruction this year and match or increase that figure next year.

Raul Yzaguirre, president of National Council of La Raza, an immigrant rights group, called the action a "sensible" decision. "Salvadorans living and working in the United States have provided, and will provide, the bulk of the money necessary to help El Salvador rebuild," he said. He also thought the move was "further evidence" of the concern Bush expressed for Latin American immigrants during the campaign.

The 1.8 million Salvadorans in the United States send more than $1.5 billion a year to El Salvador. Most of them do not have legal visas or work permits. Those who have been in the United States since the February 13 earthquake are eligible for temporary protected status. They must provide a name and address, fingerprints, and a $50 fee, plus $100 more for a Social Security card and work authorization.

Illegal immigrants from nine other countries are also eligible for temporary protected status: Angola, Burundi, Honduras, Liberia, Monsterrat, Nicaragua, Sierra Leone, Somalia, and Sudan.—Anne Graber

More info:
National Council of La Raza
Catholic Relief Serivces' "Earthquakes in Central America" coverage

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