Local News in Brief : Amnesty Drive Milestone
Chung Bae Kim, 40, a native of Korea, was spotlighted Friday as the 500,000th applicant in the Los Angeles district for temporary U.S. residency since the Immigration and Naturalization Reform Act was implemented nine months ago.
Accompanied by his wife, Wha Souk, 37, and daughter Jee Yeon, 8, who were next to file for amnesty at the mid-Wilshire INS Legalization Center, Kim said, “I want to thank America and all the people who allowed us to live in this great country.”
More than 1.3 million illegal aliens nationwide have filed for amnesty, the government’s top immigration official said at a press conference at the INS office.
INS Commissioner Alan Nelson said processing centers are bracing for a surge of applicants through May 4, the deadline for illegal aliens to request amnesty under the sweeping legislation.
Nelson, who was joined by INS Western Regional Commissioner Harold Ezell and Los Angeles District Director Ernest Gustafson, said the INS expects to reach its projected 2 million applicants by the deadline.
Less than 5% of applicants so far have failed to meet the requirements to become legal residents, he said.
Gustafson said the Los Angeles district has been responsible for 42% of applications to date nationwide.
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