Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc.

By: James Porter and Maria M. Odom

During the week of July 25,CLINIC board members Archbishop Thomas Wenski of Miami and Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio of Brooklyn, and CLINIC’s Executive Director, Maria M. Odom participated in a United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB)/Migration and Refugee Services (MRS) fact-finding delegation. They investigated the situation of unaccompanied children, displaced Haitians, and other populations left vulnerable by the January 12 earthquake. The group travelled to Haiti, the Dominican Republic, and the Bahamas.

By: Christie Valentine* and Allison Posner**

Catholic Charities of Washington, D.C. TPS Workshop

This week, Alejandro Mayorkas, the Director of USCIS, announced that the agency has extended the deadline for Haitians filing applications for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) until January 18, 2011.  Previously, Haitians had until July 20, 2010 to apply for TPS.  This is an important step in ensuring that the needs of this vulnerable population are being met in a timely manner.  Already over 35,000 applications have been approved, and another 20,000 are awaiting adjudication.  However, these numbers represent only a fraction of the individuals who are eligible for TPS benefits.  It is estimated that there may be an additional 15,000-45,000 people in the U.S. who may still apply.

Contributions by: Peggy Gleason, Yen Le, Kristina Karpinski, and James Porter

“On a recent visit to Miami to teach at a CLINIC training, I was impressed all over again by the great work of the Miami Catholic Charities immigration legal services,” says Peggy Gleason, Training and Legal Support Attorney for CLINIC. The program is located at ground zero for the multitude of Haiti assistance efforts that have sprung up since the January 12 earthquake. A third of the more than twenty people who work at the immigration program are Haitian in origin.

A New Decade, A Renewed Push for Reform, and Tragedy Strikes Haiti:  January in Immigration News