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Image provided by: Rochester Regional Library Council
\iiy^S^gggR^ggp^yy^•nil n J Climbing circulation free of become South AfHca*s lar and most controversial per.Seepajje4. newspa- States in sight 11 sectional chairmen, emerged as the front rurtner for the 1990 hoys* high school towmey, See page 16* • « Advocates blame fear, fees for lack of amnesty applicants By Teresa A. Parsons Flaminio has never lived a furtive, under- ground existence as one imagines an illegal alien would, even though he's been in the United States more than 10 years. He has worked and attended college. He has never even changed his name (except for this article, for which be asked to remain anony- mous out of fear that his comments might in some way prejudice his chances for legali- zation). But he has lied to friends and associates about his nationality. He has never dared to visit Canada or the southern United States, al- though travel was one of the dreams that first brought him from his South-American home- land to the-United States as a tourist. Because Flaminio has long wanted to leave the lies and the fear behind, to \participate freely\ in life around him, he was among the first local people to apply for legalization once the federal immigration reform law became ef- fective in May. \I cannot-say I have suffered or that I have been abused by the system!' he-said. \Still it is difficult as a Christian to lie on an applica Jidn. Honesty-is,.iimi(^toXtQ.fepi^K^^ While Flaminio's lifestyle does not fit the stereotype of an\ illegal alien, he is typical of the lc^ men a^ women who have applied for legalization ,ta date, according to James Delan^, wrjdjnator of the Catholic Family Center^ legalization efforts as well as its Refu- gee Resettlement Program. \Most cases so far have been pretty sophisti- cau^ middle-class people;' he said, \These are not the stereotypical poor and uneducated peo- ple were led to expects SinM early May, staff working with Catho- lic Paniiry Center, one of several local agen- cies desiguted by the INS to screen applicants for le^ah^atipn, have interviewed approximate- ly # candidates; Delaney said. Qibansandpaitians constitute the largest category of applicants to date with 37. Twenty-\ two applicants for general legalization have also been interviewed, along with six farmwor- kers and two registry applicants (those who have been in the US. since January, 1972). Catholic Family Center has already referred nearly a dozen applications to the Immigra- tion and Naturalization Service (INS) district office in Buffalo. Other applications are still being investigated or are awaiting further documentation. Meanwhile, a few applications each day are trickling into the INS Buffalo district office, which covers the area of New York state west Urate Dow Haitians comprise the largest local group of Segal aflans to apply for legalization since May 5. when the nation's new immigration law took effect. Sosthenes-Pierre PhMppe (right), a CathoMc Famty Center counselor, and Martin Duffy, a volunteer legaMzation assistant, interview one of 37 Haitians who have alraa<rf iiegun the process. of Rochester. Roughly one-third of the 86 ap- plications for legalization filed at the office so tar have come from the Rochester area, accord- ing to Winston Barms Jr., assistant district director for legalization. While Barrus could not say just how many applicants the INS expected, he acknowledged that the actual turnout has been lower than ex- pected. \People are concerned about the Con- fidentiality aspect,\ he said. \To be eligible, they have to have been in this country for at least five years. That's a lot to risk if you've settled somewhere with your family. \I think once some applications are ap- proved, more people will begin to come for- ward;' he added. Delaney described the response from the INS' Buffalo office as \very very, very accom- modating. \They have sent people to the INS office in Rochester to take applications, which was very nice,\ he said. \They also say that they intend oh being very flexible with the documentation. \Of course, the proof of the pudding is in what will happen to the applications that have been approved at the district level once they »—i«^h^b«-regioB^ ? lw#;'~Delaney added. tne other nana, there nave Seen snags. Brockport-area organizers have, tried for the past five weeks to obtain forms for doctor cer- tification from the INS. Currently, the only two doctors certified to perform medical exams re- quired by the legalization process are in Rochester. Applicants for legalization may have been fewer in number than anticipated, but Delaney doubts whether his limited staff and resources could accommodate any more. \Just one ap- plication, if you do it right, is going to con- sume a lot of time;' he said. Fifteen applicants a month is about as much as we can handle well at this point:' Catholic Family Center's capacity to handle cases received a boost this month with the ad- dition of Martin Duffy, a volunteer working through a Georgetown University-sponsored program. The son of Irish immigrants, Duffy enrolled in the six-month program after earn- ing degrees in Spanish and government from Georgetown this spring. He plans to study law eventually, but first wanted a chance to see the law applied. So far, Duffy has concentrated his efforts on organizing field offices and visiting migrant camps to encourage people to apply for legali- zation. Father Larry Tracy, pastoral assistant for the Diocese of Rochester's Spanish Apostolate, suspects that word has still not reached many CoathuKd OB Page 8
