WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Clinton granted Liberians in the
United States a year's reprieve from deportation, one day before
they were to lose their temporary status as protected residents.
In a statement issued Monday by the White House, Clinton said he
directed Attorney General Janet Reno and the Immigration and
Naturalization Service to defer deportations for one year in order
to promote stability in Liberia and West Africa.
Clinton said he was worried that deportations could spur
countries in West Africa to also expel the thousands of Liberians
who fled there because of civil war.
``This would severely burden Liberia and threaten the fragile
peace that has been recently achieved in West Africa,'' Clinton
said.
In one of the longest-running immigration sagas of its kind,
10,000 to 15,000 Liberians have been living in the United States
under a temporary protection program first granted in 1991, when
large numbers of people fled the country.
Temporary protected status allows for a stay of six to 18 months
for people whose homeland is hit by natural disaster or war.
The Liberians were granted extension after extension as civil
war raged. But with the fighting officially over since 1997, some
in the U.S. government believe the country is now becoming safe for
repatriations.
Last week, the Clinton administration announced that the
Liberians would get a reprieve. But details weren't announced until
Monday.
Specifically, Clinton approved a one-year ``deferred enforced
departure'' for Liberians. It differs from another extension of
temporary protected status but the practical impact for Liberians --
staying for another year -- is the same.
``We were looking with great anxiety to the end of this month,''
said Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., a leading advocate for Liberians in
the United States.
Facing deportation, ``Families would have had to make some very
difficult and, indeed, cruel choices: whether they would leave
children behind who are American citizens, whether they would go
underground .... '' Reed said. ``All of those decisions have been
spared.''
Rhode Island has about 12,000 natives of Liberia, the largest
population of any state.
Of those, roughly 3,000 to 5,000 are under temporary protection
and could have been deported without the reprieve. Others are
naturalized citizens or permanent residents.
Other Liberian communities are in Massachusetts and areas around
Washington, the Bronx, N.Y., Los Angeles and the North Carolina
cities of Raleigh and Charlotte.
Fighting in Liberia from 1989 to 1997 shattered the nation
founded by freed American slaves in 1822. It killed 200,000 and
forced half the country's 2.6 million people from their homes.
The war and the flight of business people disrupted the economy
and left in shambles the infrastructure of a nation that even in
prewar days had only one phone line for every 100 people.
Advocates for Liberians say the country lacks electricity and
sewage and is unsafe because of roaming paramilitary groups.
``This situation would be intolerable if they were to go back to
a country with 75 percent unemployment and an infrastructure that
can't cope with their safe return,'' said Rep. Patrick Kennedy,
D-R.I., who pressed the White House to grant an extension.
Pending in Congress is a bill by Kennedy and Reed to grant
permanent residency to Liberians who were eligible for temporary
protected status on or after the outbreak of civil war and have met
other eligibility requirements for immigration.
Separately, Reed is trying to amend a fiscal 2000 spending bill
for the Commerce, State and Justice departments to give Liberians
temporary protected status for the year. Although that's not
unnecessary given Clinton's action, Reed argues that it would put
Liberians on firmer footing to get a future reprieve, if needed.
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Eds: The text of President Clinton's memo to Attorney General
Reno on the Liberians' status is available on Sen. Reed's web site
at http://reed.senate.gov
