President Barack Obama

At a time when the Arizona immigration law is making illegal immigrants uneasy, a plan for helping them may be afoot.

An internal U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) memo, “Administrative Alternatives to Comprehensive Immigration Reform” signals that the federal government may be, at the least, considering a plan to legalize some undocumented immigrants living in the United States.

According to reports from El Nuevo Herald, the memo, prepared for the head of the USCIS, pointed to perhaps making it legal for some undocumented workers to work in America and place a stay of pending deportation for others. The memo, which was released in Washington last week, was directed to Alejandro Mayorkas, USCIS director.

The document stated that the immigrants that had the strongest possibility of getting green cards were some 400,000 migrants from Central America (Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua) and Haiti, who have received Temporary Protected Status (TPS) from the U.S. which allows them to stay and work.

Another group of immigrants who could stand to benefit are students who are in the U.S. illegally, and face possible deportation. They would be able to get green cards under the Dream Act, an immigration related law being considered in Congress.

The memo also states a possibility for undocumented residents who have been in the U.S. before January 1, 1972 to file for assistance to get green cards under the Dream Act, if they filed for this concession before 1996, thus forwarding the original date for filing.

Since the controversial Arizona immigration law was signed earlier this year, there has been increasing pressure on the Obama administration to address the subject of illegal immigration, and pass legislation regarding the fate of the some 11 million illegal immigrants living in the country. The USCIS memo is indicative that the issue of illegal immigration is being given consideration by the administration, although the demand by most immigration advocates, including those in South Florida, is for a comprehensive immigration reform law to be passed as soon as possible.

Lesleen Murdock, an immigration attorney in North Miami, home to thousands of Haitians, said that the memo is an encouraging sign. “However, if the findings in the memo are implemented, it would help only a small percentage of immigrants who have been waiting for years for legal status. I would prefer the government to address comprehensive reform, rather than doing a piece-meal job.”

Thousands of Haitian undocumented immigrants living in the U.S. prior to the January 12 earthquake in Haiti were granted TPS by the Obama Administration, and others who qualify can apply for this facility up to the end of the year.

There are no indications from the USCIS what, if any, actions will be taken based on the information provided in the memo. A representative of the Miami office said that although there was such a memo with suggestion for addressing some areas of illegal immigration, the document was for discussion purposes, and “could or could not lead to relevant decisions and implementation of new rules. Whatever decisions made will be made at the top of the stream.”