Last day for Salvadorans to seek special status

By Timothy Pratt

Tuesday, March 8, 2005 | 8:19 a.m.

Today is the last day for nearly a quarter-million Salvadorans nationwide to mail in applications to the federal government for a special status that will allow them to stay legally in the United States another 18 months.

The deadline applies to the third extension since 2001 of what is known as Temporary Protected Status, given to countries that have suffered natural disasters, armed conflict or other adverse conditions.

Locally, at least 1,170 people had sent in applications through March 4. The consulate of El Salvador and a private-public partnership sponsored by the Salvadorian Foundation spread the word about the looming deadline to re-apply.

The consulate, at 756 N. Nellis Blvd., has been open on Sundays for the last two months and will be open today offering people free help filling out application forms.

Up to 6,000 Salvadorans may have been eligible for the status in the Las Vegas Valley, having been in the United States when two earthquakes hit in 2001, according to Consul Oscar Benavides.

The status is criticized by some who say it has been extended too long. The status was originally intended to be an option for short-term assistance in times of crisis.

El Salvador is one of eight countries to benefit from the temporary status and as such Salvadorans "feel privileged," Benavides said.

But repatriating approximately 248,000 protected status Salvadorans from the United States would "ruin the economy" of that country, which suffers from 35 percent unemployment, Benavides said in an earlier interview.