The State : Amnesty May Be Extended

A federal judge has indicated that he will extend the alien amnesty program--which ended May 5--for immigrants who were disqualified or discouraged from applying because they briefly left the country during the one-year application period, said Peter Schey of the National Center for Immigrants Rights Inc. of Los Angeles. An extension could affect an estimated 100,000 immigrants, according to Schey, who joined other immigrants rights groups in 1986 in filing a lawsuit against the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service over the issue. Earlier this spring in Sacramento, U.S. District Judge Lawrence K. Karlton declared invalid the INS policy that left illegal aliens ineligible for amnesty if they briefly left the country without advanced permission. At a hearing, Karlton made his intention to order an extension known. According to Schey, the only unresolved issue is how the extension will be implemented. Karlton is expected to issue a final order within the next week.