Deadline Alert for Hondurans, Nicaraguans

Concerned about low registration numbers, U.S. immigration officials are urging Hondurans and Nicaraguans who qualify for temporary legal status to apply for an extension before the June 1 deadline.

Fewer than 20% of the 79,000 people granted protected status after Hurricane Mitch devastated the two Central American countries eight years ago have filed the forms necessary to legally remain in the United States, officials said.

Of the 75,000 Hondurans who are eligible, about 40% reside in Southern California, said Honduran Ambassador Roberto Flores Bermudez. The region is also home to about 20% of the 4,000 Nicaraguan nationals under the same program, officials said.

The Justice Department can offer temporary protected status to people from designated countries in the midst of armed conflict, natural disaster or other extraordinary circumstances. Extensions usually range from 12 to 18 months.

The current stay for the Hondurans and Nicaraguans will expire July 5, unless they re-register for another year.

Some suspect that many Central Americans have delayed registration because they are hoping for legislative reforms that could create a path toward citizenship. The Senate may resume deliberations on the issue later this month.

“We just want to let people know that they have a deadline here,� said Marie Sebrechts, spokeswoman for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. “They shouldn’t wait for something that might come up in the future but which none of us can predict at this point.�

The oft-contentious national debate over immigration reform may also have diverted the attention of the media -- especially Spanish-language outlets -- which typically issue reminders to the affected communities, said Daniel Sharp, legal director of the Central American Resource Center.

Gloria Sandoval, 35, of Cudahy said she had to convince her two younger brothers of the need to renew their work permits and status. Swept up in the excitement of the recent immigration marches, the natives of Trujillo, Honduras, initially considered saving their application money in case Congress decided to grant amnesty.

Several Hondurans the family knows share the same view, said Cesar Nahun Nezar, 26, one of Sandoval’s brothers.

“Many people think there is going to be something� coming from Congress, Nezar said in Spanish. Instead of spending a few hundred dollars to reapply for a temporary stay, some are willing to wait for something more permanent.

But people cannot rely solely on the possibility of reform, said Sandoval, who filed her forms last week.

Hondurans and Nicaraguans received a temporary stay after Hurricane Mitch devastated their countries with floods and mudslides in 1998. Salvadorans were admitted under the same umbrella three years later, when major earthquakes shook El Salvador.

Immigration officials have yet to announce the re-registration period for the estimated 220,000 Salvadorans across the U.S. who are under temporary protected status.

Before this year, there had been five extensions for Hondurans and Nicaraguans, and three for Salvadorans. There are also Burundians, Liberians, Somalis and Sudanese in the U.S. under temporary asylum.