3 Million Out of the Shadows : Controversy, Celebration as Amnesty Turns 2

Amid much hoopla, the nation’s amnesty program got off the ground two years ago Friday, creating the exciting possibility of legal U. S. residence for millions of longtime undocumented immigrants.

Two years and much controversy later, more than 3 million people have come out of the shadows and become legal residents under the program, among them about 100,000 in San Diego County.

Critics have said that more liberal guidelines and more diligent work by the U. S. Immigration and Naturalization Service, which administers the program, could have opened the doors for many more. INS officials have said they did as much as they could.

Although such disagreements continue, there is unanimous recognition that the program has been a boon for the people who have qualified for legal residence. Two groups of undocumented people were eligible: those who could show they have lived continuously in the United States since Jan. 1, 1982, and field hands who could demonstrate they performed at least 90 days of farm labor during a recent one-year period.

On Cinco de Mayo

On the program’s two-year anniversary, which coincided with Mexico’s Cinco de Mayo, officials of the INS took time for a low-key celebration.

Among those at the legalization office in San Diego was Marisela Plata de Rosas of San Diego, a 38-year-old mother of three sons--aged 19, 16 and 11--whose entire family has become legal under the program. Plata, a native of Mexico City who works to support her family, said she has been living in the United States since 1977.

“For me, the most important thing about amnesty is that my sons can keep on studying,” she said as she sat in the INS office, festooned for the day with balloons and bunting. “Before, we didn’t know what would happen. We thought maybe we would have to go back to Mexico eventually.”

On Friday, the Plata family was submitting its applications for the program’s critical second phase, under which the newly legalized progress from temporary to permanent status--and the cherished “green card” that allows them to live and work in the United States. Those who fail to file in the second phase--everyone has at least 12 months to do so--will revert to illegal status, and are subject to deportation.

(The second phase, which began in November, applies to so-called “general” amnesty applicants filing under the Jan. 1, 1982, cutoff date; farm worker applicants progress almost automatically to permanent legal status.)

INS officials and others have expressed fears that the second-phase process is going slowly. Basic U. S. civics and English-language requirements are expected to discourage some applicants, although amnesty seekers have the option of taking classes to meet the requirements. In some areas, notably Los Angeles, applicants have had trouble finding space in classes, a fact that has added to concern about the program’s future.

Pace Has Quickened

Despite the obstacles, officials said Friday that the application pace has quickened considerably in recent weeks. About a quarter of the almost 1 million general amnesty applicants in California have already submitted their second-phase applications, officials said.

“At first there was just too much confusion in the second phase,” said Harold W. Ezell, the INS’ Western regional commissioner. “Now we’re picking up some momentum.”

Applications will continue pouring in until November, 1990, when the final filings will be accepted. By then, Marisela Plata said, she hopes she and her family will be permanent legal residents, and well on their way to U. S. citizenship, something that takes five more years but that Plata says is essential.