3/29/00

The Nicaraguan and Central American Relief Act (NACARA), which also applies to Cubans, and the Haitian Refugee Immigration Fairness Act (HRIFA) were passed by Congress in November 1997 and October 1998, respectively. The legislation allowed nationals of these countries immigration benefits and relief from deportation. However, the final versions of the legislation will not be published in the Immigration and Naturalization Service regulations until Friday. When the final regulations are published, immigrants and their advocates will have only one week to apply for benefits in compliance with the final regulations.

Immigrants and their advocates are irate that immigrants will have only one week to file benefits under the final regulations. Although immigrants and their advocates have been preparing for over a year to file the cases of immigrants, the final regulations could make it easier for the immigrants to apply for residency. Marleine Bastien, of the Haitian-American Grassroots Coalition, stated, "I feel this is a sign of gross negligence on the part of the INS. We only have a week left. What are people going to do?" INS official Michael Shaul, empathizing with Bastien, stated, "Believe me, I am ashamed. I am disgusted by how long it took for these regulations to get out. I am on your side on this issue."

As a result of the INS's negligence in getting the final regulations published on time, Congress is considering legislation that would extend the deadline for filing an application under NACARA and HRIFA for up to one year. Nancy Segerdahl, a spokeswoman for Sen. Connie Mack, stated, "It really is an issue of fairness. I believe there is an effort underway to get this moving pretty quickly, before the deadline."

- Jorene