Groups Expect Flood of Amnesty Applicants

Los Angeles-area groups assisting Salvadoran and Guatemalan immigrants are preparing for an onslaught of applications as federal officials Thursday unveiled complex new rules that ease the way for as many as 250,000 Southern California residents to obtain permanent legal status.

The long-awaited guidelines, while not nearly the full amnesty granted almost two years ago to Nicaraguans, still represent a major step forward for those who fled during the 1980s-era civil wars and have lived in legal limbo ever since.

In a key reversal, the Immigration and Naturalization Service has decided that most eligible applicants will be presumed to suffer “extreme hardship” if they were to be deported. That technical finding means that most will not have to go through the difficult process of definitively proving hardship.

“I’m happy for the changes, but I still feel bad for all of those left out,” said Isabel Gaspar, 41, a garment worker who says she fled what human rights advocates call a government-sponsored campaign of “ethnic cleansing” of Indians in Guatemala’s Mayan highlands.

Like so many other Central Americans, Gaspar says her irregular status here has forced her to live with uncertainty and anxiety. Among other things, Gaspar says, she has been unable to visit Guatemala--where her seven children remain--since she came to the United States in 1990.

But contrary to the beliefs of many, the new program does not provide protection for all of the many Central Americans living under the shadow of deportation in the Los Angeles area--site of the the nation’s largest Central American community. Nor is the initiative a blanket amnesty or an ironclad guarantee of approval. All applicants must file documentation to back their claims and must face an INS interview.

And, as written, the regulations still allow no presumption of hardship upon deportation for children and spouses seeking green cards through the applications of their parents, husbands or wives.

Moreover, the law leaves out the many Salvadorans and Guatemalans who arrived after 1990. In addition, tens of thousands of Hondurans remain ineligible, though deportations of Hondurans have been suspended after Hurricane Mitch.

With the rules finally unveiled, legal assistance groups voiced fears that the complex program could end up being a bonanza for unscrupulous immigration “consultants” and notarios (notaries public).

Unfortunately, experts say, many applicants will inevitably turn to shady neighborhood operators because there isn’t enough low-cost advice available.

The largest Los Angeles-based aid group, the Central American Resource Center, can handle the applications of no more than 400 families a year. Yet submitting paperwork without professional aid is a risky course that could lead to deportation.

Moreover, many question how the INS--already bogged down with backlogs of applications for citizenship, political asylum and other benefits--can deal with this daunting new responsibility.

Seeking to quell concerns, community advocates stressed that most need not rush. There is no deadline for submitting applications and supporting paperwork to the INS.

“There is no need to panic,” said July London, legal director for the Central American Resource Center.

However, many applicants, who have lived for years in legal limbo, are eager to get started.

Advocates are conducting regular neighborhood meetings in an effort to get the word out. Participating attorneys are practicing a kind of legal triage, attempting to deal with the most pressing cases first.

Certain applicants--those with children approaching age 21, in particular--are urged to seek help as soon as possible. That is because their sons and daughters will no longer be eligible for legal status once they turn 21, or get married. Delays in submitting the new regulations mean many have already passed their 21st birthdays.

“Kids are falling out of eligibility all the time,” said Robert Foss, an attorney at El Rescate. “Once again, the line has been drawn right through families.”

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Applicant Information

The Immigration and Naturalization Service estimates that 290,000 Salvadoran and Guatemalan immigrants may be eligible to apply for permanent residence (green cards) under new rules released Thursday. All must have been in the United States since 1990. Spouses and unmarried children younger than 21 may also be eligible, bringing the total to about 500,000. About half are believed to reside in Southern California.

The INS expects to begin accepting applications June 21. Applicants must apply by mail and provide:

* A completed application and a copy. (INS Form I-881, still being developed.)

. * Two passport-style photographs.

* A fee of $215 per individual, with a family cap of $430. In addition, a $25 fingerprint fee must be submitted for each applicant 14 or older.

Applicants are also encouraged to provide supporting documentation, including receipts and copies of income tax returns, and letters from clergy or others demonstrating longtime residence, good moral character and the likelihood of “extreme hardship” if deported.

Several immigrant-

assistance groups will hold regular meetings to aid applicants and others. For more information, call:

* El Rescate: (213) 387-3284.

* Central American Resource Center: (213) 385-7800.