Articles Tagged with immigration law

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The Department of Homeland Security has announced an extension of Temporary Protected Status for Haitians. Nationals of Haiti who re-register will be given another 18 months of TPS status, from July 23, 2014 to January 22, 2016.

The TPS status for Haiti was designated in 2010, after the disastrous earthquake in that country that claimed as many as 200,000 lives and left many areas in shambles. While many players in the international community lent support to Haiti, the United States’ close proximity presented an opportunity of refuge from the dangerous aftermath.

The state of Florida was particularly responsible for offering asylum, making the TPS extension particularly relevant in our corner of the country. South Florida is home to the largest percentage of Haitian Americans in the country, and Haiti lies just 692 miles away from Miami.

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The last time things in Venezuela were this unstable was back in the late 80s and early 90s, when the seed was being planted for Hugo Chavez’s eventual meteoric rise to power. The controversial leader implemented sweeping social reforms as part of the Bolivarian Revolution, which included, quite famously, nationalization of Venezuela’s oil industry and large welfare programs. From 2000, at beginning of Chavez’s first term, to 2006, the population of Venezuelans in the United States grew from 91,507 to 177,866, according to census data.

Much of that growth, of course, was concentrated in South Florida. Now, a new wave of political unrest in Venezuela is grabbing the attention of those involved in South Floridian immigration law.

Student protests have clashed with the government of President Nicolas Maduro, who was elected president last year in the wake of Chavez’s death. Since taking office, economic conditions in Venezuela have drastically deteriorated; the value of their currency has plummeted alongside shortages of goods. Protests in response mounted, and after government forces opened fire on a crowd, claiming the lives of four students, outrage was fueled even further.  Just yesterday, Venezuela’s opposition leader, Leopoldo Lopez, was detained, standing accused by Maduro’s government of inciting violence.

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