Time is running out on amnesty program

The program, established in 1986, ends Saturday.
Los Angeles Times
Almost 20 years have passed since Congress approved an amnesty for nearly 3 million immigrants living illegally in the United States, but for perhaps as many as 100,000 undocumented residents, the door is still open.
It closes Saturday.
With the deadline approaching, lawyers are reaching out to immigrants who still might be eligible for green cards under the 1986 amnesty program.
They are people such as Valentin Badillo, a Los Angeles-area resident who crossed the U.S. border illegally in 1980. After the amnesty passed, Badillo applied, but a trip back to Mexico to visit his ill father disqualified him.
Under the rules in force at the time, people who left the country between 1982 and 1987, even for brief trips, were rejected for the amnesty. But as a result of a legal settlement in two class-action lawsuits, that changed. Now, people like Badillo have until Saturday to reapply for legal residency.
Without immigration papers, Badillo said, he has had to work under the table -- often for meager wages -- as a construction worker, janitor and factory employee.
But after 25 years, Badillo, 64, said he is optimistic that he finally might become legal.
"Esperanza muere al ultimo," he said, which is similar to the English-language saying, "Hope springs eternal."
Opponents
Groups that work against illegal immigration see the new deadline as yet more evidence of how weak U.S. immigration laws are.
"That's the reason we have large-scale illegal immigration: because we send a clear message that there are no negative consequences to breaking our immigration laws," said Ira Mehlman, spokesman for the Federation for American Immigration Reform. "And if you persevere long enough, you are going to get what you want."
The fact that immigrants still can apply for legal residency under the 1986 law should discourage legislators from passing a new amnesty or guest worker program, he said, adding that, "We'll be litigating this one into the 22nd century."
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