US decides 312,000 immigrants can stay for now

The US Department of Homeland Security has decided to extend by 18 months the stay of 312,000 Hondurans, Nicaraguans, and Salvadorans who have been living in the United States as temporary residents, saying it would be inhumane to return them because of the difficult conditions in their countries.

The extension has brought little relief, however, to some of the affected immigrants who have built lives in this country and are seeking to stay in the United States permanently and invite their relatives to join them.

It has also frustrated some immigration policy specialists who are hoping Congress reaches a more permanent solution. The Hondurans and Nicaraguans had been subject to possible deportation on July 5 and Salvadorans on Sept. 9, and their future remains unclear. The government has not said whether it will grant another reprieve. The extension affects 78,000 Hondurans and 4,000 Nicaraguans, who gained temporary permission to stay in the United States after Hurricane Mitch devastated the two countries in 1998, as well as 230,000 Salvadorans who were granted the status after earthquakes in 2001.

"It's good news temporarily; it allows us to work for 18 months," said Carlos Chacôn, 41, a community organizer who immigrated to Chelsea from El Salvador eight years ago and wants to stay permanently. "But that doesn't solve the problem over the long term, because we're still separated from our families. We continue with this uncertainty."

Steven Camarota is director of research at the Center for Immigration Studies in Washington, D.C., which favors strict enforcement of immigration laws. He said the extension reflects a lack of political will in Washington to confront the long-term status of the affected Central Americans.

"It's always easier politically on the immigration issue to kick the can down the road, and that's what has happened here," Camarota said yesterday. "Experience has shown that once a group gets this kind of status, and a group has been getting it for a long time, it becomes difficult to withdraw it, because there's always a reason for people to stay."

Citing the long history of natural disasters, wars, and economic problems in much of Central America, Camarota said, "What becomes hard is to at some point say, 'They've got to go.' "

Emilio Gonzalez, director of US Citizenship and Immigration Services, which announced the extension Wednesday, said his agency had reviewed conditions in the countries and decided it would be unfair to send immigrants back.

"Although Honduras, Nicaragua, and El Salvador have made significant progress in their recovery and rebuilding efforts, each country continues to face social and economic challenges in their efforts to restore their nations to normalcy," said a statement Gonzalez released. "This 18-month extension reflects the United States' commitment to continue assisting our Central American neighbors on their road to recovery."

Blanca Romero, 39, a warehouse worker from El Salvador who has lived in Worcester for 14 years, expressed frustration with the decision.

She said she still hopes to become a US citizen. But immigrants like her, who have been living in the United States under the program, known as Temporary Protected Status, receive no special consideration when they apply for permanent residence. Once their temporary stay ends, those who have not gained permanent residence are expected to return to their homelands, Shawn Saucier, a spokesman for Citizenship and Immigration Services, said.

"On the one hand, it's good; I'm happy that it's 18 months now," Romero said. "On the other hand, it's not sufficient."

Romero worries about being separated from her husband, Julio, 38, a bellman at Foxwoods Casino who is a legal permanent resident and is scheduled to become a citizen this summer. Romero said she has not seen her mother and sisters since she came to the United States, because she fears not being allowed back into the country.

"It's difficult for the whole family," she said. "Immigration has to understand the rights of all the immigrants, and that's what they're not doing."

The recent immigration raid at the Michael Bianco Inc. factory in New Bedford has also cast a pall over the situation. Romero said she had seen news footage of the parents who were arrested at the factory and is worried about the same thing happening to her.

"That's what I don't like to think about," she said. "I've seen the mothers crying on the news. That's the hardest thing that can happen to someone, to have their children separated from them."

Michael Levenson can be reached at mlevenson@globe.com.