New York Attorney General Letitia James
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Prince Moore reports
New York's Attorney General is calling for Washington to grant special immigration protection to Jamaicans affected by Hurricane Melissa.
Hurricane Melissa, the most intense storm ever to hit Jamaica, has killed at least 45 people and caused US$10 billion in damage.
Attorney General Letitia James has written to the US Department of Homeland Security, urging the Trump administration to immediately designate temporary protected status (TPS) for Jamaicans, following the storm's devastating impact on the island on October 28.
Authorities estimate that thousands of households have been displaced, with many communities losing homes, schools, businesses, electricity, clean water and access to medical care.
TPS would allow eligible Jamaicans already in the United States, who cannot safely return home, to live and work there legally for a limited period.
Attorney General James said forcing Jamaicans in the US to return to what she describes as a "devastated island" would be dangerous and cruel, and that situations like this are exactly what TPS was designed to address.
She also noted that the US has granted similar protections in the past to nationals of Haiti, Honduras, Nicaragua and Nepal after major natural disasters.
Her call has strong backing from several New York elected officials.
Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke said Jamaica is facing devastation and displacement at levels never before seen in its history, and argues that the US has a moral and diplomatic obligation not to expel Jamaica nationals into unsafe conditions.
She recently led 43 members of Congress in writing to Homeland Security with the same request.
Queens Borough president Donovan Richards, the son of a Jamaican immigrant, said the images from Jamaica "break his heart", and insisted the US must do all it can to support what he calls its Caribbean brothers and sisters as they begin the long road to rebuilding.
Several New York state legislators with Jamaican roots or large Jamaican constituencies have also thrown their support behind TPS.
Several assembly members, along with New York City Council Majority Whip, Selvena Brooks-Powers, said many Jamaicans in the US simply cannot return home safely and should be allowed to remain legally while their families and communities recover.
The decision rests with the US Department of Homeland Security and the White House.
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