President Bush Extends Temporary Protected Status to El Slavadorans Living in U.S.

According to the White House web page, President George W. Bush extended TPS status to El Salvadorans for 18 months in a meeting with El Salvador's President Antonio Saca. This announcement was made on September 24th at the Council of the Americas in New York City where the two leaders met.

TPS status, according to the Federal Register found on the US Dept. of Justice web site is defined as:

a temporary immigration status granted to eligible nationals of
designated countries or part of a designated country. During the period for
which the Attorney General has designated a country under the TPS program,
TPS beneficiaries are not required to leave the United States and may obtain
work authorization. The granting of TPS does not lead to permanent resident
status. When the Attorney General terminates a country’s TPS designation,
beneficiaries return to the same immigration status they maintained before TPS (unless that status had since expired or been terminated) or to any other status they may have been granted while registered for TPS.

According to the same document, this status is usually reserved for Nations
which

are experiencing ongoing armed conflict, environmental disaster, or other
extraordinary and temporary conditions.

While I would like to think that President Bush had the best intentions at heart, I can't help but wonder if this gesture isn't intended to be a boost for Saca and the ARENA party in the upcoming elections. I hope that it is truly a humanitarian gesture on the part of United States.

Interesting Article About the Effect of the Central American Free Trade Agreement

I found this interesting article on a web site called The Indypendent. It talks about some the negative effects that CAFTA has had on the people and the economy of El Salvador. As we head into our own elections please seek out information on what position the United States candidates hold on these "free trade" agreements. Please ask questions on how we and our government can be part of the economic growth for other countries in the world and make sure that we do not support agreements which encourage growth of multinational corporations at the expense of the people. Click here to read the whole article.

Riding for Immigrant Rights

I found this article on a web site called Workers World. It is a great story about one man's journey over many thousands of miles in support of immigrant rights for El Salvadorans. One man's journey could seem insignifigant to some, but could inspire, educate and inform many others. Click here to read the story!