Earthquake Amnesty in Works for Illegal Aliens from Ecuador, DHS Quietly Grants “Migratory Relief” in Spanish

Word of a special earthquake amnesty for Ecuadorean nationals living in the United States illegally is spreading like wildfire in Spanish media reports published throughout Latin America recently. A catastrophic, magnitude 7.8 temblor struck the ailing South American nation’s pacific coast on April 16, killing hundreds and injuring thousands. Undoubtedly, it’s been devastating and worthy of the tremendous humanitarian aid being provided by the U.S. government as well as a multitude of charities.

However, the Ecuadorean nationals who stand to benefit from yet another one of President Obama’s disaster amnesty initiatives already lived in the U.S. illegally when the earthquake hit. Offering this perk is like rewarding bad—in this case illegal—behavior. We’ve already seen this occur many times in the last few years and Judicial Watch has documented it in a number of reports. Obama has granted Ebola amnesty for illegal aliens from Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone, earthquake amnesty for Haitians, hurricane amnesty for Hondurans and Nicaraguans and “ongoing armed conflict” amnesty for nationals of Yemen, an Islamic Middle Eastern country well known as an Al Qaeda breeding ground. Earlier this year the administration rewarded illegal aliens in the Southern and Midwestern United States “severe weather” amnesty due to the flooding that battered the region and forced rivers from Texas to Illinois to surge out of control.

Considering this record, it’s not unreasonable to assume that the administration will eventually issue an earthquake amnesty for illegal aliens from Ecuador. Officially this is known as Temporary Protected Status (TPS), a humanitarian measure designed to temporarily shield illegal immigrants from deportation during emergencies. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is consulting with “appropriate agencies” as it evaluates the earthquake’s impact and Ecuador’s recovery efforts to determine if a TPS order is necessary, according to a newspaper report in El Salvador that quotes a DHS spokesperson. The agency is already helping Ecuadoreans in the U.S. by granting work permits and waving visa fees if candidates show that their financial situation has been hurt by the earthquake, according to a document posted in Spanish on the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) website. It states that USCIS offers “migratory relief measures” for those affected by natural disasters such as the recent severe earthquakes in Ecuador, Japan and Burma. This is clearly targeted at Ecuadoreans since Japanese and Burmese don’t usually speak or read Spanish.

The earthquake reprieve idea gained steam after an Illinois congressman well known for his open borders agenda, wrote a letter to Obama calling for TPS for Ecuadorians living in the U.S. “The United States Congress created TPS for exactly these types of dire circumstances in foreign countries, when those citizens cannot safely return to their country and are already living in the U.S.,” the congressman writes to the commander-in-chief. “Given the magnitude of the destruction, Ecuadorians cannot safely return home. Extending TPS is the compassionate response that would provide the many Ecuadorians throughout our country with much-needed security and stability in this time of personal, familial, and national crisis.” The Center for Immigration Studies (CIS), the Washington D.C. think tank dedicated to researching legal and illegal immigration into the U.S., points out that almost every natural disaster in the third world is followed by calls for amnesty for illegal aliens from the afflicted country. More information on this phenomenon is offered in a recent CIS piece titled “The Earthquake Lottery for Illegal Aliens, Ecuador Edition.”