Status of immigration law leaves many in limbo

By Timothy Pratt (contact)

Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2001 | 10:29 a.m.

Silvia Ramirez, 34, has lived in the United States almost half of her life. She and her husband, Benjamin Limon, came from Guanajuato, Mexico, in 1988 with their son, Angel, who was only 2 at the time.

Now she and Angel, who barely can speak Spanish, may be sent back to Mexico because reinstatement of an expired law is now in limbo as Congress turns its attention toward national defense and toward tighter immigration standards.

The law, called 245-I, earlier had the backing of the Bush administration, and observers thought Congress would reinstate it in the first week of September.

Ramirez is among thousands of illegal immigrants in the Las Vegas area who could benefit from the law. It would allow illegal immigrants to apply for residency, the step below citizenship, if they are married to a U.S. resident or citizen or if they have a job offer.

Under the law, applicants could remain in the country while their applications were pending, instead of having to return to their native countries and separate from their families for what could be as long as 10 years. In return, applicants would pay a $1,000 fine for having been in the country illegally.

The law was in effect for five years, having passed in 1993 and expired in 1998. It was reinstated again earlier this year -- from Jan. 1 to April 30.

An estimated 640,000 illegal immigrants took advantage of the law this year during the four-month period, but as many as 200,000 others didn't.

"This often happens, mostly because it takes time to get accurate information out to the immigrant community," said Angela Kelly, deputy director of the Washington-based National Immigration Forum.

"The INS tries to do its job but is understaffed. Then there are many unscrupulous people who pass themselves off as immigration attorneys and wind up making a lot of people lose time and miss deadlines," Kelly said.

"In the back and forth, the ones who suffer the most are immigrants."

The American Immigration Lawyers Association, which has about 7,500 attorneys as members, was so confident about congressional support for the law that the group's website announced Sept. 7 that the law was expected to be reinstated soon.

"This looked like a done deal," said Las Vegas attorney Julia Osborne, who is a member of the association.

But the law wasn't reinstated, and now Osborne is trying to buy time for Ramirez and at least a dozen other clients, in the hopes that Congress will turn its attention back to the law.

Osborne found herself in Immigration Court on Sept. 28 with Ramirez, who is applying for residency based on her husband's residency. The hearing was delayed until Nov. 7 after Osborne told the judge she believed that Congress would pass the law.

Bill Anderson, a legal assistant for attorney David Kwan, said his office also has at least a dozen clients in limbo while 245-I is on hold.

"I keep telling them to check back in a week," he said.

Attorney Peter Ashman said he was telling his clients throughout the summer that 245-I would be reinstated soon. Most of them were Mexican. Most said they didn't take advantage of the earlier offer because they didn't have the $1,000 before the April 30 deadline.

"These people are hard working, many pay taxes and they should have the same rights now as before April 30," he said.

Ashman said some of these immigrants are forced to work illegally and live in fear of being discovered by the INS and deported.

On May 1 President Bush sent a letter to congressional leaders urging them to reinstate the law.

The Senate passed S.778 Sept. 6, which would have kept the law current until April 30, 2002. The House had already passed H.R.1885 on May 21, extending the law only for four months.

The two versions were being reconciled the first week of September, but action was delayed. A final version of the bill may not go to the president until next year, Kelly said.

"Unfortunately, everything that doesn't have to do with anthrax or the war is being pushed back," said a spokeswoman for Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., who supports the bill.

Ramirez said she wasn't sure what the name of the law was that would allow her to become a resident, and she had tried several times before to legalize her immigration status.

"I've paid a lot of money, filled out a lot of applications and left a lot of fingerprints," she said.

"Now I'm a nervous wreck, thinking about what could happen in court. What little we have here. What are we going to do in Mexico?"