Refugees from the earthquake in Haiti earlier this year have been given extra time on a temporary ID program while they stay in the U.S.
The U.S. government recently announced plans to extend a program to provide temporary ID cards for protection measures offered to refugees from the Haitian earthquake in January of this year, according to a report from the Washington Post.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has issued more than 35,000 plastic ID cards to provide temporary protected status for Haitian refugees in the country. The cards are provided to Haitians who can prove they have lived continuously in the U.S. since January 12, 2010 – the date of the earthquake.
The Washington Post interviewed a business student who was in the United States on a medical visa, which expired last November. In an interview with the Washington Post, 25-year-old Jeff Jn Charles explained the problems the ID card program solved for him.
"Living without papers is very difficult, very stressful," he said. "I couldn’t go out, I couldn’t even drive, I couldn’t even have an ID, I couldn’t safely walk on the street."
The plastic ID cards come at a time when government officials are rethinking immigration ID card programs, as illegal immigrants in New Haven, Connecticut have recently been issued ID cards for safety purposes.
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