Visas for 15 Who Lost Relatives on 9/11
By KIRK SEMPLE
By KIRK SEMPLE
New York Times
August 16, 2008
Federal officials granted temporary legal status on Friday to 15 illegal immigrants whose spouses or parents died on 9/11 but who have remained largely invisible, living in the shadows of society for fear of deportation. Those officials and the families’ supporters said the decision would clear the way for Congress to move forward on bills that would grant the immigrants permanent legal status. “When I told my clients about it, there were tears of joy,” said Debra Brown Steinberg, a lawyer representing several of the immigrants. “They can show their faces and say their names.” “Now they can make 9/11 their story, too,” she added. “It’s a great day.” The immigrants have lived in limbo since the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. They were the wives, husbands and children of several victims in the World Trade Center, some of whom were legal immigrants, the rest of whom were illegal themselves.
Federal officials granted temporary legal status on Friday to 15 illegal immigrants whose spouses or parents died on 9/11 but who have remained largely invisible, living in the shadows of society for fear of deportation. Those officials and the families’ supporters said the decision would clear the way for Congress to move forward on bills that would grant the immigrants permanent legal status. “When I told my clients about it, there were tears of joy,” said Debra Brown Steinberg, a lawyer representing several of the immigrants. “They can show their faces and say their names.” “Now they can make 9/11 their story, too,” she added. “It’s a great day.” The immigrants have lived in limbo since the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. They were the wives, husbands and children of several victims in the World Trade Center, some of whom were legal immigrants, the rest of whom were illegal themselves.
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