Local News in Brief : Amnesty System Revised

Immigration authorities in Los Angeles have revised a procedure for dealing with the relatives of amnesty recipients, after confusion over a case involving a young Salvadoran couple who feared they would be separated because the wife qualifies for amnesty while the husband does not.

Jose Nelson Canenguez, 24, and his wife, Ana, 20, appealed Wednesday to Ernest Gustafson, Los Angeles district director of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, after Canenguez was told by an immigration officer earlier in the week that he would have to leave the country.

Canenguez was originally ordered to leave the country by an immigration judge after he was apprehended upon entering the country illegally about four years ago. Canenguez had sought an extension of the court order, based on his wife’s temporary resident status, gained through the amnesty program.

Antonio Rodriguez, the couple’s attorney, charged that the denial of an extension flew in the face of Gustafson’s longstanding policy not to separate families. Gustafson countered that the denial was not final since all cases involving close relatives of amnesty recipients are ultimately sent to his office for review. In the future, however, to avoid similar confusion, no temporary denials will be issued, only a final decision after he has reviewed a case, Gustafson said.