Government Poll Confirms Mass Migration of Central Americans to U.S.; 200,000-Plus Figure Just the Start of 'Wave... PRNewswire 20-APR-99 WASHINGTON, April 20 /PRNewswire/ -- Nearly 200,000 people have left Central America in recent months for the United States and another 600,000 will soon be on their way, according to polling data recently released by the U.S. Information Agency (USIA). One hundred thousand Hondurans -- 3.5 percent of that country's population -- have fled since the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Mitch. Twice as many Hondurans are thinking of leaving the country in the next month or so, the data indicate. "An exodus from Central America of this magnitude rivals the crisis in Europe triggered by the ethnic cleansing campaign in Kosovo," suggested Dan Stein, Executive Director of the Washington D.C.-based Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR). "Not only is this the single largest wave of humanity ever to come to America illegally, but many will stay here permanently," he added, noting that the USIA poll found a majority of the respondents planned on staying in the U.S. for years, not months. Stein emphasized that hundreds of thousands of permanently relocated and poorly educated Central Americans will have a "devastating" impact on the job prospects of poor native Americans. In response to the devastating hurricane, the Clinton administration last December granted Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to 150,000 Central Americans already residing in the U.S. FAIR noted at the time that TPS awards are frequently misconstrued by others as an invitation to emigrate to the U.S. The USIA data note that many Hondurans who plan to leave the country soon believe that the United States is currently allowing many Hondurans to remain in the U.S without proper documentation. "What was promoted as a 'temporary' response to a crisis situation in Central America is about to turn into a permanent population transfer," Stein claimed. "This is proof once again that the only kind of disaster assistance that achieves its goals is the kind that helps people rebuild in their country," he added. The study also noted that half of Central Americans with plans to leave had been thinking of emigrating to the United States even before the arrival of Hurricane Mitch. Central America has sent a steady wave of asylum seekers to the U.S. this decade, with more than 400,000 claims being made between 1990 and 1996. "This exodus is sure to lead to amnesty demands for illegal aliens and trigger new waves of family-related migration," said Stein. In the long run, he added, the migration is likely "to cripple" the economies of those countries permanently. The study claimed that Honduras could lose nearly 10 percent of its workforce should the forecasted migration take place. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ================================= Robert F. Tatman [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Remove "nospam" from the address to reply. NOTICE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml POSTING THIS MESSAGE TO THE INTERNET DOES NOT IMPLY PERMISSION TO SEND UNSOLICITED COMMERCIAL E-MAIL (SPAM) TO THIS OR ANY OTHER INTERNET ADDRESS. RECEIPT OF SPAM WILL RESULT IN IMMEDIATE NOTIFICATION OF THE SENDER'S ISP. ____________________________________________________________________ Get your own FREE, personal Netscape WebMail account today at http://webmail.netscape.com.
