Posted on June 16, 2006

Displaced Salvadoran Nationals Can Stay in U.S.

Kathleen McGrory, Miami Herald, June 16, 2006

Salvadoran nationals displaced by a series of natural disasters will be able to spend another year in the United States, immigration officials announced Thursday.

Starting July 3, nearly 225,000 Salvadoran nationals will be able to reregister for Temporary Protected Status, a program that allows them to live and work in the United States.

The Department of Homeland Security first announced its intention to renew the special status in February, but the decision was not made official until Thursday, said Dan Kane, a spokesman for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. TPS is most often granted to nationals of a country affected by armed conflict or natural disasters.

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Salvadoran nationals were first given the status in March 2001, just months after two major earthquakes devastated the country. It has been extended annually.

Earlier this year, Hondurans and Nicaraguans — many of whom, along with Salvadorans, were affected by Hurricane Mitch — were also invited to reregister.

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