Colombian immigrants push for stronger protections
Marcela Flores Iga
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03/17/04
President Bush's proposal to give temporary work permits to immigrants who entered this country illegally has come under criticism from members of East Boston's Colombian community, who say the proposal doesn't address the unique problems they face.
Over 100 Colombians gathered recently at the Holy Redeemer Church in East Boston, calling on the president to embrace a bill by Rep. James McGovern, D-Mass., that would make Colombian nationals eligible for temporary protected status in the United States.
"We have the power and the obligation to change things... We will decide in which way the scale is going to move,' said Raquel Rocha Matthews, the coordinator for the advocacy group Voices in Action and a member of the Colombian community.
On Jan. 7 President Bush proposed a guest-worker program that would allow undocumented immigrants living here to register for a temporary permit to work in the United Statess. It also would allow workers to come to this country and fill jobs that Americans were not willing to take.
Under this proposal, immigrants would obtain an initial three-year work permit, which would be renewable once, but they could not later apply for a green card or American residency. After the permit expired, workers would have to go back to their country.
According to Rocha Matthews, this proposal, although beneficial, falls short because the situation for most Colombian immigrants is quite different. They didn't come here looking for a better job, she said. They had to flee their country because of civil war and constant confrontations in which thousands of civilians have died at the hands of paramilitary forces, guerillas and the Colombian army.
In July 2003, Rep. McGovern introduced a bill to provide temporary protected status to Colombians living in the United States so that they could legally stay for two-year period while waiting to be granted political asylum.
"The proposal of President Bush should recognize the difficult circumstances which have caused so many Colombians to come here for refuge...It is important that the new program would not force workers to return to a situation that will endanger their lives," Rocha Matthews said.
President Bush's proposal to give temporary work permits to immigrants who entered this country illegally has come under criticism from members of East Boston's Colombian community, who say the proposal doesn't address the unique problems they face.
Over 100 Colombians gathered recently at the Holy Redeemer Church in East Boston, calling on the president to embrace a bill by Rep. James McGovern, D-Mass., that would make Colombian nationals eligible for temporary protected status in the United States.
"We have the power and the obligation to change things... We will decide in which way the scale is going to move,' said Raquel Rocha Matthews, the coordinator for the advocacy group Voices in Action and a member of the Colombian community.
On Jan. 7 President Bush proposed a guest-worker program that would allow undocumented immigrants living here to register for a temporary permit to work in the United Statess. It also would allow workers to come to this country and fill jobs that Americans were not willing to take.
Under this proposal, immigrants would obtain an initial three-year work permit, which would be renewable once, but they could not later apply for a green card or American residency. After the permit expired, workers would have to go back to their country.
According to Rocha Matthews, this proposal, although beneficial, falls short because the situation for most Colombian immigrants is quite different. They didn't come here looking for a better job, she said. They had to flee their country because of civil war and constant confrontations in which thousands of civilians have died at the hands of paramilitary forces, guerillas and the Colombian army.
In July 2003, Rep. McGovern introduced a bill to provide temporary protected status to Colombians living in the United States so that they could legally stay for two-year period while waiting to be granted political asylum.
"The proposal of President Bush should recognize the difficult circumstances which have caused so many Colombians to come here for refuge...It is important that the new program would not force workers to return to a situation that will endanger their lives," Rocha Matthews said.