Washington, D.C. — Thousands of Liberians threatened with being returned to Liberia after they fled civil conflict there during the 1990s have won a temporary respite.
President Clinton Friday extended the official "temporary protected status" which enables them to work and reside in the United States and which was due to expire today.
"There continue to be compelling foreign policy reasons not to deport these Liberians at this time," President Clinton has told Attorney general Janet Reno in a memorandum.
He has instructed her to defer for one more year the expulsion of some 10,000 Liberian refugees who fled Liberia's war and came to the United States. In particular, President Clinton wrote, "there is a significant risk that "involuntary repatriation...would cause instability in Liberia and the region."
The issue of granting permanent residence to the refugees remains unresolved. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) hopes that legislation granting this status he introduced earlier this year, can be attached as an amendment to pending legislation before the Congress adjourns October 6. Most observors think this is unlikely.
The failure to grant this status reflects a double standard says Reverend Jesse Jackson, leader of the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition. "If we can open our borders to embrace Kosovars fleeing the oppression of the Milosevic regime, we can do the same for Liberians, who remain fearful that the conflict embroiling their homeland comprises a real and direct threat to their saftey."
Reverend Jackson is also President Clinton's special advisor on Africa.
