The Bush administration has rejected a request by Haitian President René Préval and others to allow tens of thousands of undocumented Haitians living in the United States to stay until their homeland recovers from a string of deadly summer storms:
''After very careful consideration, I have concluded that Haiti does not currently warrant a TPS [temporary protected status] designation,'' Michael Chertoff, secretary for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, wrote in a letter last month to Préval.
TPS was approved by Congress in 1990 for foreign nationals fleeing civil war and natural disasters. After Hurricane Mitch in 1998, Washington granted several Central American countries TPS, and the designation was recently renewed. TPS is a limbo status that gets you a renewable work permit and reprieve from deportation, but often no immediate way to get on track for permanent resident status and eventually citizenship. It can be revoked on a technicality, like sending in the incorrect fee. Minor arrests can tank your TPS status.
Countries given TPS: El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua (but not Guatemala)
Countries not given TPS: Liberia, Sierra Leone, Burundi
Do you see a pattarn here?
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