Halt in Central America Deportations Extended

Responding to the ravages of Hurricane Mitch, the Immigration and Naturalization Service announced Monday that it is extending through Jan. 7 the temporary suspension of deportations to El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua.

U.S. officials had previously put off deportations to the four hard-hit Central American nations until Nov. 23. But the agency extended the move for six weeks “in a humanitarian effort to help the four governments cope with the devastation caused by Hurricane Mitch,” the INS said.

The moratorium has already averted the deportation of 134 illegal immigrants being held in the Los Angeles area, said Bill Strassberger, an INS spokesman. They will remain in INS custody until at least Jan. 7. However, officials are weighing whether to allow deportees with no criminal records to be freed on bond or supervised release pending their expulsions.

Top officials in Washington are examining broader proposals to offer temporary refuge to hundreds of thousands of other Central Americans living in the United States, either as illegal immigrants or with temporary legal status.