Few Aliens Will Be Accepted in Amnesty’s Last Phase, INS Says

As many as 200,000 illegal immigrants may apply for amnesty under a separate section of the landmark immigration law of 1986, but there is a major catch, U.S. immigration officials have admitted.

“Very, very few, if any, will be accepted into the program,” Ernest Gustafson, the Immigration and Naturalization Service’s director in Los Angeles, told a news conference Wednesday on the city’s Eastside.

He said the program--designed to ensure that there are enough seasonal workers for America’s farms and ranches--hinges on whether federal officials declare a shortage of such workers. If a shortage is not declared, then no workers will be selected, Gustafson said.

An estimated 3 million aliens applied nationwide under the amnesty law’s general provisions, which are open to a variety of workers including year-round agricultural workers. They have until November, 1990, to complete the law’s Phase II requirements of knowledge of English and U.S. history in order to qualify for amnesty.

The Replacement Agricultural Workers program, dubbed RAW by INS officials, represents the final opportunity for some aliens to obtain amnesty under the provisions of the Immigration Control and Reform Act.

Beginning Sept. 1 for a three-month period, aliens can apply for the four-year RAW program if they:

* Have worked in agriculture in the United States for at least 20 days in a one-year period between May 1, 1985, and Nov. 30, 1988.

* Have been in the country illegally since before Nov. 30, 1988.

* Are at least 18 years of age.

* Will be able to perform agricultural labor during each of the three years following acceptance into the program.

INS officials talked about the RAW program amid reports that the alleged widespread fraud that some said plagued the amnesty program was actually not as great. Gustafson said fewer than 15% of the amnesty applications received were thought to be fraudulent.