Stuck Outside Window of Opportunity

Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free

And stick them all in a single-file line

Outside the INS in Westminster, Calif.

(Oh, yeah, and hope it doesn’t rain!)

Not quite as catchy as the original language on the Statue of Liberty, but it speaks to the plight of thousands of Orange County’s immigrants.

Forget Statue of Liberty. The way things are going in Westminster, the immigrants themselves have become statues, frozen in a line that doesn’t move thanks to the fact that a single window--yes, a single window--is being used to process thousands of green-card renewals for legal residents.

Ah, but what’s one more glitch in the life of the immigrant in contemporary Southern California?

They’ve already endured being blamed for failing schools, faltering health-care service, rigged elections and an undermining of American culture.

About the most charitable thing you can say about our local Immigration and Naturalization Service is that it’s not responsible for our recent rains. Nor is it the INS’ fault that it’s cold at night.

On the other hand, are we sure? Maybe the INS is in charge of the weather, which would explain why it’s been so goofed up lately.

The INS’ latest challenge to its admittedly difficult job is to handle the renewal of tens of thousands of legal residents who hold green cards allowing them to live and work in the United States. A glut of residents are due for their 10-year renewal this year because their cards were issued in 1990 as part of a federal amnesty program.

An INS spokesman says it’s not exactly accurate to say the agency is surprised that so many people are renewing this year.

Why, then, have hundreds of people stood outside the INS office in Westminster and waited for hour upon hour?

Uh.

“We knew what the numbers were [for potential renewals this year], but they’re making a personal decision to come earlier or come in [at] peak times,” says INS spokesman Rico Cabrera.

Not Exactly an Empowered Class

He’s referring to the fact that many green-card holders are renewing months before they’re legally required to. It’s perfectly OK to do so; it’s just that the INS says it wasn’t expecting it. Cabrera concedes that the situation is likely to frustrate the people in line, many of whom have said they’ve waited all day only to be turned away at closing time.

As a result, it’s cost them time away from work and complicated their day-care situations.

An INS official in Westminster told a Times reporter last week that the single window would remain in effect at least until this summer, when the agency relocates in Santa Ana.

At that point, officials say, there will be five windows.

Assuming the INS isn’t handing out Prozac, one wonders how the crowd is keeping from going nuts.

The answer, of course, is that holders of green cards aren’t exactly in the empowered class.

Who are they going to complain to? They’re not citizens, so they don’t even have someone in Congress to help them.

If nothing else, the situation recalls the old days at DMV, where you could apply for a license and still be there four years later to get your renewal.

But over the years, the public’s protesting finally led to improvements in moving crowds more quickly.

What a surprise to find the immigrants don’t have such clout.

Cabrera says the people in line shouldn’t panic. Even if they don’t get their cards renewed by the exact date, they won’t lose their status, he says. But in the next breath, he points out that an expired green card could pose some travel or work problems, and that card-holders should come in as soon as they can if their card expires.

To my ears, that brings us back to square one--in line outside the Westminster office.

Even those of us who know and love our dear ol’ USA get antsy when the bureaucracy makes us jump through hoops like this.

Now imagine you’re the holder of a green card and you see that your longtime best friends over at the INS have provided a single window to handle thousands of claims.

And then you can’t get in. Either today or the next day.

And then they tell you not to panic.

*

Dana Parsons’ column appears Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. Readers may reach Parsons by calling (714) 966-7821 or by e-mail at dana.parsons@latimes.com.