Quantcast
Channel: NBC Connecticut
Viewing all 57608 articles
Browse latest View live

Skiers and Snowboarders Brave Harsh Wind Chills

0
0

Wind chills below zero didn’t stop diehard skiers and snowboarders from heading out to enjoy the powder from Thursday’s blizzard on Saturday.

Skiers and snowboarders hit the slopes at Mount Southington Ski Area despite the brutally cold conditions.

"My cheeks are frozen. I’m cold. But it’s fun. It’s good to be outside. We love the snow," said Woodbridge resident Crystal Dodd.

And they have a lot of fresh powder, after the blizzard dumped about a foot on Southington. But the crowds were sparse with temperatures well below freezing.

The mountain had to scale back some children’s programs. And they’re keeping an eye on staff who have to work outside.

"We rotate them a little more often," General Manager Jay Dougherty explained.

Dougherty said all the recent cold has allowed for a lot of snowmaking.

And it’s all led to most of the mountain opening earlier than normal.

Now they’re hoping winter enthusiasts come out to enjoy it.

"The brutal cold is going to break a little bit. But all in all, you know, the warm weather is welcomed and hopefully it gets people a little excited to get out," Dougherty said.

Skiing continues until 10. And while it’s cold in Connecticut, our neighbors to the north have it worse. In Vermont some ski areas, including Killington and Jay Peak, shut down Saturday as they faced wind chills around -50.



Photo Credit: NBC Connecticut

Planes Collide on JFK Tarmac

0
0

Departure delays were slowly improving Saturday night at John F. Kennedy Airport, where workers have been struggling to get a handle on a backlog of flights after Thursday's ferocious snowstorm -- a problem made all the worse after two passenger jets collided on the runway earlier in the day. 

Passengers captured images of airport misery Saturday: massive crowds, widespread confusion, people sleeping on the floor and arriving flights stuck on the tarmac for hours. 

"Madness. There's like two planes full of people at each gate," passenger Julia Knitel said of the conditions in the airport. 

One family's flight was ultimately canceled and rebooked for Wednesday. "The lines were going around all sorts of corners. It's complete pandemonium," one of them said. 

A man said he was in a plane on the tarmac for four hours. "They got grumpy," he said of the passengers onboard. 

A missing flight attendant added to an hours-long delay at one gate, where fighting broke out and police were brought in to keep things under control, according to a passenger. 

Outside the airport at arrivals, it was just as chaotic and congested as people waited for their loved ones. Some passengers reported waiting hours at baggage claim.

Juan Cuellar was in the airport five hours before he finally left. "It's crazy, it's unbelievable," he said. "People are really mad because once they get out -- five hours wait -- they have to wait like one hour for their baggage. So it's a really long time." 

Port Authority, which manages all three of the major airports serving New York City, said a number of factors led to a backlog at gates and that it expected delays to continue into the evening because bitter cold was causing equipment issues on the ground.

"A surge in flights at JFK Airport, produced by the rescheduling of delayed flights, combined with the effects of the winter storm, which severely disabled equipment, has resulted in terminal operators and airlines experiencing delays in getting planes and their passengers into their gates," Port Authority said. 

Things were only made worse when the right wing of a China Southern plane hit the tail of a Kuwait Airways airliner, damaging both aircrafts, according to the Port Authority. 

The China Southern flight was being towed when the planes collided shortly after midnight, the FAA said. Both planes are Boeing 777s. No one was injured and all the passengers got off safely, but the collission only added to the mess. 

Kuwait Airways said on Twitter that Flight 118 from New York to Kuwait was struck by the Chinese plane as it was parked before takeoff. The airline said it was working with authorities in New York to investigate. The Kuwait Airways passengers were taken to hotels as they waited for alternative flights, the airline said. 

The China Southern plane didn't have any passengers at the time, according to the Port Authority. 

By Saturday evening, the Port Authority said it was still working to limit flights coming into JFK until there were enough gates available to handle the backlog. The authority was providing portable staircases and buses to deplane passengers and bring them into the terminal. 

Passengers complained of lengthy waits on planes and in the terminal since Friday afternoon.

"@JFKairport 3 hours on the tarmac waiting for a gate tonight. Pilot saying airport control is "chaotic". Is anyone there?," tweeted one passenger who had landed on a flight from Germany at 8 p.m.

Another on a different flight added: "Stranded in the airplane for more than 3 hours in #jfkairport waiting for a gate in the “capital of the world” with freezing temperatures outside starting to affect the cabin. This is #ridiculous." (At 3 a.m., it was 10 degrees with a wind chill of -9 at the airport.)

Another passenger, meanwhile, said that passengers began calling 911 from the plane while they waited and others began "to threaten to break open the emergency exit." He also reported a fellow passenger was going through a medical episode and complained about heart conditions.

"This is illegal," he tweeted.

According to air travel tracking service Flightradar 24, dozens of planes had the same issues after landing. At midnight, it posted a screenshot of ground traffic at the airport showing what appear to be several dozen planes sitting in apparent waits for gates. 

"After landing 3.5 hours ago, #DY7019 awaits a gate. Unfortunately for passengers at JFK tonight, they have plenty of company," the service tweeted.

Later, the airline said the plane made it to a gate after 4 hours -- and after circling the entire airport. 

Departing flights weren't much better off: social media users were also reporting takeoff delays as well. One traveler even posted a video of a fellow passenger playing violin at their gate to pass the time. 

The situation comes the same day an American Airlines flight had to return to the airport following takeoff after a mechanical failure.



Photo Credit: @papd911/Twitter
This story uses functionality that may not work in our app. Click here to open the story in your web browser.

Multiple Departments Respond to Garage Fire in Plainville

0
0

Multiple departments responded to a fire at an industrial garage on Cronk Road in Plainville Saturday.

Dispatchers confirm that Plainville fire, Southington fire and Farmington fire aall responded to the scene of the blaze at 15 Cronk Road, which was first reported at 4:13 p.m.

Dispatchers said the structure is a 10-bay industrial garage.

No other details were immediately available.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.


This story uses functionality that may not work in our app. Click here to open the story in your web browser.

Light Snow for the Monday Evening Commute

0
0

NBC Connecticut Meteorologists are forecasting a light snowfall accumulation by Monday evening.

Accumulations of a trace to 2 inches are expected with a few isolated areas especially in Litchfield county receiving up to 3 inches.


While this is a light snowfall accumulation it will still likely lead to some isolated issues with the afternoon and evening commute. 


There is also the possibility of schools dismissing early especially in the western half of the state where the snow is expected to start first.



This story uses functionality that may not work in our app. Click here to open the story in your web browser.

'Fire and Fury' Is 'Grotesque' and 'Fiction': Stephen Miller

0
0

White House senior policy adviser Stephen Miller attacked a new book about the inner workings of President Donald Trump's White House as "grotesque" and "fiction" in a tense interview Sunday, NBC News reported.

"The book is best understood as a work of very poorly written fiction, and I also will say that the author is a garbage author of a garbage book," Miller said on CNN's "State of the Union." 

Miller also lamented Steve Bannon for making "grotesque comments" in the book, ones he said are "so out of touch with reality" and vindictive." He described the former chief strategist's role as "greatly exaggerated" and twice called Trump a "political genius."

The tell-all book, Michael Wolff's "Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House," has prompted a swift backlash from Trump and his White House. In the book, Bannon makes a number of scathing critiques against Trump and his inner circle, including calling a meeting between Trump campaign officials with a Russian lawyer in Trump Tower during the presidential campaign "treasonous" and "unpatriotic."



Photo Credit: AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File

Books Destroyed When Pipe Bursts at Burlington Library

0
0

The Burlington Library was forced to close Saturday when a frozen sprinkler pipe burst and sent water pouring into the children’s department.

According to a post on the library’s Facebook page, a pipe burst Saturday afternoon and destroyed 78 picture books. The library will be closed through at least Monday while crews work to repair the broken sprinkler pipes and reassemble everything.

The library will backdate any returns to avoid late fees.

Renewals can still be made online. For more information, click here.




Photo Credit: Burlington (CT) Public Library
This story uses functionality that may not work in our app. Click here to open the story in your web browser.

Crews Respond to Leak at Large Propane Tank in Branford

0
0

Fire and hazmat teams responded to a leak from a 1000-gallon storage tank in Branford Sunday.

Fire officials said they were called to the tank at 738 East Main Street around 9:15 a.m. The tank is owned by Amerigas. The regional HAZMAT Team and Department of Energy and Environmental Protection crews responded to assist.

Crews used a flaring technique, which burns off the remaining gas, to control the leak. The process takes several hours.

Officials said the tank was about 40 percent full when the leak occurred. The exact cause is under investigation, but it appears to be accidental.



Photo Credit: Branford Fire Department

Woman Run Over by Car in Norwalk: Fire Officials

0
0

A woman was trapped under a car after being hit on Main Street in Norwalk Sunday.

Norwalk fire officials said the woman was run over by a car at 205 Main Street and trapped by the vehicle. Firefighters raised the car to rescue her and she was rushed to Norwalk Hospital with severe injuries.

No other details were immediately available.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.


New Britain Police Seek Suspect in Possible Kidnapping

0
0

New Britain police are searching for a suspect accused of assaulting a woman and forcing her into a car.

Police said that around 10:41 a.m. they received multiple 911 calls for a possible kidnapping. Witnesses reported that a man, later identified as 21-year-old Shaquille Marquez, had grabbed a woman at 194 East Street and forced her into a car, then drove off.

The victim was later found safe in New Britain.

Police are searching for Marquez, who was last seen driving a black Honda with Connecticut license plate AF37072. Witnesses said the car had dark tinted windows, chrome rims and “V-Tech” written in red on the doors. The car has been spotted in West Hartford and East Hartford, but did not stop for police.

There is an active arrest warrant with a $50,000 bond for Marquez charging him with violation of conditions of release, police said.

Anyone with information on the incident or the suspect’s whereabouts should contact New Britain Police at 860-826-3000. Anonymous messages can be left on the tip line at 860-826-3199 or online at NewBritaniPolice.org.

Hartford Police, West Hartford Police, East Hartford Police, Connecticut State Police and the New Britain States Attorney’s Office are all assisting with this investigation.



Photo Credit: New Britain Police Department

Prisoner Missing From Robinson Correctional in Enfield: PD

0
0

Enfield police are warning residents about a prisoner who escaped from the Robinson Correctional Institution Sunday.

Police said that 25-year-old Jerry Mercado was last seen Sunday morning at 10:20 a.m.

The Department of Correction said that the facility was placed on lockdown around 3:15 p.m. when they realized Mercado was missing.

Mercado is described as male, 5-foot-4, and 137 pounds. He may be wearing a combination of a tan jumpsuit, white t-shirt and gray sweatshirt.

Mercado was searching a three-year sentence for third-degree burglary charges. DOC said he is classified as a "low risk" offender.

Anyone who thinks they’ve seen Mercado should contact 911 immediately. Police stress that he should not be approached.




Photo Credit: CT Department of Correction

Torrington Doctor Struggles to Get Refund for Charity Trip

0
0

A doctor in Torrington hit some turbulence with American Airlines when one of his employees quit unexpectedly before an overseas charity mission.

For 17 years, the optometrist, Dr. Matthew Blondin and his wife, Audrey, have headed up a charity eye care mission to Nicaragua as part of the Volunteer Optometric Services to Humanity (VOSH, CT).

"This is an opportunity for doctors to really go in and make a difference on people's lives," Blondin said.

But this year's trip hit a snag when Blondin bought an American Airlines ticket costing $1272.39 for a staff member who unexpectedly quit.

Blondin said he tried to get a refund but it was "impossible."

He said when the contacted American Airlines for a refund or transfer, they said, "Sorry, we don’t credit money. We don’t issue another ticket. It’s only good for that particular person."

"It would be one thing if we were maybe on vacation, but this is part of a charity mission," Bronin said.

Frustrated with American Airlines, Blondin reached out to NBC Connecticut Responds.

A representative from the airline told NBC Connecticut that Blondin’s reservation was canceled and said they would also authorize a refund to his credit card, but it could take up to five days.

According to American Airlines, a non-refundable fare for a ticket can be changed, but the customer would have to pay the change fee. Regardless, American does not allow a name change from passenger to passenger.

In Blondin’s case, the airlines said they refunded the ticket amount as a gesture of goodwill.



Photo Credit: NBC Connecticut

Fundraiser Benefits Roy Moore Accuser Who Lost Home in Fire

0
0

A Bay Area tech executive has launched a fundraiser in hopes of helping a Roy Moore accuser whose Alabama home was destroyed by a possible arsonist.

Katie Stanton has never met Tina Johnson, who has previously accused the former Alabama Senate candidate of sexual harassment, but the executive based out of Burlingame felt compelled to offer a helping hand after learning about the destructive blaze. Much to her amazement, Stanton's GoFundMe campaign has resulted in more than $150,000 raised for Johnson.

In the time since flames charred Johnson's home in Gadsden, Ala., local authorities have opened an arson investigation, but they do not believe there is a connection between Moore's campaign and the fire. No matter what comes along with the investigation, the damage has been done. 

"Everything's gone," Johnson said. "We come out of there with clothes on our backs. Me, my grandson and my husband, we have nothing."

It was when Stanton came across images of the devastation on the news that she decided to do something.

"I looked online to see if there might be a GoFundMe page and I didn’t see one," Stanton said. "So I decided to set one up thinking that maybe I could raise a thousand dollars or so for her."

Stanton launched the fundraiser Friday afternoon and quickly witnessed scores of people chipping in with donations. By Sunday at 12 p.m., nearly 5,000 people had contributed $154,759.

"This touched a nerve," Stanton said. "I think we have all been moved by the Me Too movement and have all been moved by the bravery that so many women have demonstrated over the past year."

Despite Johnson's loss, Stanton, who was able to talk to Johnson after starting the GoFundMe campaign, believes the fundraiser acts as a bit of relief.

"When I first called her, she was in tears," Stanton said. "I think she was both overwhelmed by the grief of losing her home but also by the remarkable compassion that so many people have shown."

The money raised will go to help rebuild Johnson's home. Any extra funds will benefit local charities in Alabama.



Photo Credit: WVTM

Bridgeport School Closed Tomorrow After Pipe Burts

0
0

Park City Magnet School in Bridgeport will be closed tomorrow due to a broken pipe that has caused flooding in the school. 

According to school officials, the pipe burst sometime during the evening hours on Sunday night. 

Crews are currently in the process of fixing the pipe and cleaning up the flooding. 

There was no word on if the school will re-open Tuesday, as of Sunday night. 




Photo Credit: NBC Connecticut

Trump Allies Defend Him Against Book's Claims

0
0

Trump administration officials and allies are rallying to the president's defense, trying to contain the fallout from an explosive new book that questions Trump's fitness for office.

Chief policy adviser Stephen Miller, in a combative appearance Sunday on CNN, described the book as "nothing but a pile of trash through and through."

CIA Director Mike Pompeo said Trump was "completely fit" to lead the country.

"These are from people who just have not accepted the fact that President Trump is the United States president and I'm sorry for them in that," Pompeo, who gives Trump his regular intelligence briefings, said on "Fox News Sunday."

Nikki Haley, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said she visits the White House once a week, and "no one questions the stability of the president."

"I'm always amazed at the lengths people will go to, to lie for money and for power. This is like taking it to a whole new low," she told ABC's "This Week."

Michael Wolff's "Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House" portrays the 45th president as a leader who doesn't understand the weight of his office and whose competence is questioned by aides.

That picture, said Miller, "is so contrary to reality, to the experience of those who work with him."

Miller also criticized Trump's former chief strategist, Steve Bannon, who is quoted at length by Wolff, saying it was "tragic and unfortunate" that Bannon "would make these grotesque comments so out of touch with reality and obviously so vindictive."

Bannon's description of a June 2016 meeting at Trump Tower in New York between Donald Trump Jr., Trump campaign aides and a Russian lawyer as "treasonous" and "unpatriotic" particularly infuriated Trump, who released a seething statement accusing Bannon of having "lost his mind."

Trying to heal the damage and make amends, Bannon released a statement Sunday praising Trump Jr. as "both a patriot and a good man" and insisting his description was aimed at former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, not Trump's son.

"I regret that my delay in responding to the inaccurate reporting regarding Don Jr has diverted attention from the president's historical accomplishments in the first year of his presidency," Bannon said in the statement, which was first obtained by the news site Axios.

Miller's interview on CNN's "State of the Union" quickly grew heated, with Miller criticizing CNN's coverage and moderator Jake Tapper accusing Miller of speaking to an audience of one: his boss.

Tapper abruptly ended the interview, saying: "I think I've wasted enough of my viewers' time."

Soon after, Trump tweeted: "Jake Tapper of Fake News CNN just got destroyed in his interview with Stephen Miller of the Trump Administration. Watch the hatred and unfairness of this CNN flunky!"

Trump took the extraordinary step Saturday of using Twitter to defend his fitness for office, insisting he is "like, really smart" and, indeed, a "very stable genius." He pressed the case again on Sunday as he prepared to depart Camp David, where he spent the weekend meeting with Republican congressional leaders, top aides and Cabinet members.

"I've had to put up with the Fake News from the first day I announced that I would be running for President. Now I have to put up with a Fake Book, written by a totally discredited author," he tweeted.

On Sunday, two days after the book's release, WikiLeaks tweeted a link to an electronic image of the text. Posting the text of a book without permission would violate copyright restrictions and potentially damage sales. Yet, hours after WikiLeaks tweeted the link, "Fire and Fury" remained No. 1 on Amazon's lists of hardcover and ebook bestsellers.

Associated Press writer Hope Yen contributed to this report. 



Photo Credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Plainville AAA Closed Monday Due to Burst Pipe

0
0

The Plainville AAA location will be closed Monday after a burst pipe caused flooding.

Licenses services are available at other AAA offices in Avon, Cromwell, Enfield, Manchester, Old Saybrook, Waterford and West Hartford.

Frozen and burst pipes continue to cause issues across the state after a stretch of frigid temperatures. This week will see a warm-up. For the full forecast, click here.



Photo Credit: PR NEWSWIRE

Canton DPW Finishes Cleanup From Thursday Storm

0
0

The Canton Department of Public Works is working to finish cleanup from Thursday’s storm before another round of snow showers move through Monday.

The department was out working on snow piles in the downtown area of Collinsville starting at 4 a.m. Monday. They warn residents cleanup may last until 7 a.m., but they’re shooting to have everything cleared and salted by 6 a.m.

It’s taking six plows to get the job done.

As they are collecting the snow, they are placing it into trucks that will be dumped at the Mill Pond Recreation Center.

Crews asked that anyone heading downtown before 7 a.m. not to park on the roads, and instead, use the parking lot at Town Hall.

The highway foreman explained they waited until Monday to give their crews a rest after the snow, and to avoid working in the frigid cold this weekend.

"We needed some rest. With the cold temperatures that we had this weekend, we couldn’t have done it any sooner. We had some problems with some of the equipment jamming up and stuff like that," said Highway foreman Tom Richardson.

Another round of snow is expected Monday, but it won’t have the impact Thursday had – the NBC Connecticut meteorologists are forecasting a coating of less than an inch across the state.



Photo Credit: NBC Connecticut

Community Remembers Horses Killed in Simsbury Fire

0
0

Sunday was a day of mourning for many in Connecticut's equestrian community. A group gathered at Hop Meadow Country Club to celebrate the two dozen horses that were lost in a fire at Folly Farm in Simsbury last month.

"He was tough on the outside, soft on the inside," said Natalie Nordyke of West Hartford about the horse she became close with.

At the center of the memorial service were photographs of 24 horses lost in the fire on December 28.

"He was a beautiful thoroughbred. It was a shame to lose him," said Catherine Carter in West Hartford, who was remembering a horse named Buddy. Over the years, Carter said, her daughter developed a special bond with the horse.

"He would be the one horse to find me at a show, put his head over my shoulder," said Carter.

Buddy was among the two dozen horses that died after a fire. Investigators believe the flames were an accident, sparked by an electrical problem.

"It's obviously been difficult but having the other nineteen horses on property has certainly been helpful in terms of there's always work to do," said Alison Patricelli, General Manager of Folly Farm.

"I'm touched by how many people cared. It just speaks to how many lives these horses touched," said Nordyke. "Everybody that met them loved them," she said.

Managers at Folly Farm said they are raising money to help pay some of the staff and to purchase new horses in the future.

Folly Farm is a 175-acre, family-owned farm about 10 miles northwest of Hartford that offers horse riding and competition lessons, boarding and polo instruction.



Photo Credit: NBC Connecticut
This story uses functionality that may not work in our app. Click here to open the story in your web browser.

Initial Talks Underway on Trump-Mueller Interview: Sources

0
0

President Donald Trump's legal team is in discussions with FBI investigators over what a possible interview with special counsel Robert Mueller's team might look like, three people familiar with the matter told NBC News.

One option for the interview being discussed is written responses to questions instead of a formal sit-down, sources said. One person with direct knowledge of the discussions described them as preliminary and ongoing.

Two of Trump's lawyers and a spokesman for the special counsel's office declined to comment to NBC News.

Justice Department veterans suggested that Mueller would want to interview the president directly, with former U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia Chuck Rosenberg saying that prosecutors "want answers directly from witnesses, not from their lawyers. The odds of prosecutors agreeing to written responses are somewhere between infinitesimally small and zero."



Photo Credit: Alex Wong/Getty Images

Firefighters Battling Fire on Roof of Trump Tower in NYC

0
0

Two people had minor injuries after a blaze broke out in a cooling unit on a Trump Tower roof deck Monday morning, according to FDNY officials. 

FDNY Chief Roger Sakowich said one firefighter was hurt when debris fell on top of him, and an engineer had injuries but refused treatment after the blaze that broke out on President Donald Trump's namesake skyscraper at East 57th Street and Fifth Avenue at 6:58 a.m. The department later said a third person was also treated on the scene. 

Trump wasn't in the building at the time of the blaze. His son, Eric Trump tweeted out thanks for first responders.


Sakowich said U.S. Secret Service agents noticed the blaze, which started in a cooling unit, which at this time of year are equipped with heaters. The flames came out of a vent, he said. 

Cameras on the top of Rockefeller Center, about seven blocks away, showed firefighters crowding around on the top of the building as smoke emitted from one corner of the roof about 7:30 a.m.

By 8 a.m., the smoke had cleared and firefighters appeared to have left the scene, footage showed. 

Sakowich said the fire remains under investigation.




Photo Credit: @levi1994 / Twitter
This story uses functionality that may not work in our app. Click here to open the story in your web browser.

El Salvador Immigrants Worried as DHS Mulls End of Protected Status

0
0

When Nancy Vasquez first flew to the United States from El Salvador in 1999, after she and her husband got visas, she packed only one suitcase stuffed with precious photographs, a few dresses and two pairs of shoes. She couldn’t speak a word of English but she moved to Montgomery County, Maryland, with her husband, Fernando, because they were lucky enough to be granted visas. They planned to never return home.

Before Vasquez’s visa was set to expire in 2001, she discovered she could receive a form of humanitarian, provisional residency known as Temporary Protected Status (TPS) because an earthquake devastated her home country that year. In the years that followed, Vasquez had a daughter named Rebecca, she divorced her husband and she traded the rented room she once shared with him for her own home in Damascus, Maryland.

Vasquez is one of an estimated 267,000 TPS holders in limbo now as the U.S. Department of Homeland Security weighs whether to extend their status as legal residents in the coming months. DHS is set to announce by Monday whether about 195,000 people originally from El Salvador will have to leave the U.S. or face deportation.

The Washington, D.C. area has the largest number of TPS holders from El Salvador, at more than 32,000, according to an April 2017 report from the Immigrant Legal Resource Center, an advocacy group.

Vasquez said she has started to work on “plan B.” If her TPS status ends, Vasquez, 48, plans to move back to El Salvador and let her daughter live with her uncle and his husband in D.C. She said she dreads this possibility.

“She needs me because she’s only 12 years old,” Vasquez said, her voice raising. “She needs more of her mom. Her uncle is her uncle. He’s not her mom. I’m her mom. Yo soy su mama.”

For people from other countries, the Trump administration said Nov. 20 that it would end TPS for about 46,000 people from Haiti on July 22, 2019, and for about 2,550 people from Nicaragua on Jan. 5, 2019. DHS is set to determine the fate of people in the U.S. from Honduras by July 5.

TPS holders received the status because the secretary of DHS determined conditions in their home country — like a continuous armed conflict, an environment disaster or an epidemic — barred them from returning or barred the country from receiving them. People with TPS status are protected from deportation, can work and can apply for travel authorization.

Now they’re waiting for news that will change their lives and worrying about what to do if they’re forced to leave.

Pennsylvania resident Karla Alvarado was 9 years old when she left San Salvador, El Salvador in 1997, with her aunt and 4-year-old brother. They went to meet her mother, who arrived in the U.S. a year earlier to escape Alvarado’s abusive father. Her mother sold everything she had to leave El Salvador, Alvarado said.

It took two weeks for Alvarado, her aunt and her brother to make their way from El Salvador to the U.S., traveling through Guatemala and Mexico. They entered the U.S. illegally and got TPS status in 2001. It came with “a sense of security,” Alvarado said.

“I knew before [that] we were ‘illegals,’” she said.

TPS gave her a “a sense to say ‘I’m here legally. I don’t have to worry about anything,’” she continued.

As an adult, Alvarado lives what she called her “American dream.” She went to nursing school, works as a nursing supervisor in home care and bought a house with her husband. Now 29, she helps supports her mother and younger siblings.

The thought that her TPS status could end fills her with anxiety.

“The uncertainty of not knowing what’s going to happen makes me very anxious. I have a mortgage. I have a car payment. I have my bills to pay. I have my husband,” she said. “I’m head of household. I have to help my mother and my siblings.”

“You’re taking that away from me and I don’t understand why,” Alvarado added.

Her husband is a citizen, so Alvarado is looking into whether his status would help her case for permanent residency. She’s worried her mother and brother could be deported.

“We’ve been here, my brother and I, since we were little,” Alvarado said. “We don’t really know what it’s like to live in El Salvador anymore. This is our home.”

The decision to end TPS for Nicaragua and Haiti came after a review of the current conditions of the two countries. Elaine Duke, then acting secretary for DHS, determined the conditions that led to those designations didn’t exist anymore, statements from the department say. People from Nicaragua got TPS status after Hurricane Mitch in 1999. In Haiti, the designation came after the major earthquake in 2010.

The Nicaraguan government made no request to extend its current designation, and Duke decided the conditions caused by Hurricane Mitch no longer existed, according to a statement issued Nov. 6. For Haiti, DHS said the country has shown "a commitment to adequately prepare for when the country’s TPS designation is terminated," according to a statement issued Nov. 20.

"Significant steps have been taken to improve the stability and quality of life for Haitian citizens, and Haiti is able to safely receive traditional levels of returned citizens," the statement said.

Nicole Svajlenka — a senior policy analyst for immigration policy at the Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank — said she believes some TPS-designated countries, such as Haiti, likely are not “that well-equipped to receive such a large number of people at once, back from the United States.”

“The infrastructure that takes decades to rebuild after something that would cause countries to be designated complicates this,” she said. “Through no fault of their own, people have lived here for a very long time. The U.S. really hasn’t made this temporary in any means.”

Svajlenka said ending U.S. residents’ TPS status would lead many people to become undocumented immigrants and create more mixed-status families.

Svajlenka co-wrote a report published in October on how TPS holders influence the U.S. economy and society. If TPS were to be eliminated, the report found, the U.S. citizen children of recipients would have two main options: being separated from their families or moving to a country they don’t know.

“Those families are faced with a choice that is just absolutely heartbreaking to imagine. Do you stay in the U.S. without authorization, or do you return to a country that received this designation for important reasons? In many cases, things that they haven’t recovered from yet,” Svajlenka said.

Laura Muñoz Lopez, a special assistant for immigration policy and colleague of Svajlenka said violence and political unrest make it difficult for countries such as El Salvador and Honduras to take in “people who have made lives in the United States.”

“It’s called Temporary Protected Status for a reason. But at the same time, that is under the assumption that the country that has TPS is working on a way to getting out of the chaos or civil unrest that it’s in,” Muñoz Lopez said. “It’s not like we want Honduras, El Salvador and Haiti to never get better. We would love for those countries to be in a place where they can be welcoming back to the people that call that country home. But unfortunately, that isn’t the case.”

The removal of TPS holders from the workforce would be “catastrophic, not only for the states but for the country as a whole,” Muñoz Lopez said.

According to a report from the Center for Migration Studies, a nonpartisan think tank, TPS holders from El Salvador, Honduras and Haiti — the three countries with the largest TPS populations — have a labor force participation rate that ranges from 81 to 88 percent, which is above the 63 percent rate for the total U.S. population. TPS holders from those three countries primarily work in construction, restaurants, landscaping, child care and supermarkets, the same report said.

TPS holders are fulfilling jobs that “would be otherwise untaken, unfilled,” said Zuzana Jerabek, a policy and advocacy associate at the National Immigration Forum, which supports bipartisan efforts for immigration reform.

“They are enhancing our economy. They are making our culture more diverse. They are bringing different ideas into our society,” she said. “That’s what we believe makes America great.”

Ending TPS status for thousands of U.S. residents would give them three possibilities, Jerabek said: they could leave the country, migrate to another country or “go into the shadows” in the U.S.

“Instead of doing what the administration is saying it wants to do -- it wants to get rid of unauthorized populations -- they would create more of these undocumented people,” Jerabek said.

Immigration lawyer Corie O’Rourke said she has told TPS holders to start searching for other immigration options so “they can get something in place before their TPS ends or not have too long of a gap after their TPS ends.” She works for Ayuda, a D.C. nonprofit that provides legal and social services to immigrants.

Many TPS holders don’t have other opportunities for protection, even though “their entire lives are here,” she said.

“They’re having to face, ‘Do I leave all that and go back to a country that I left for a reason?’ These countries are not places that a lot of people want to go back to,” O’Rourke said. “Or ‘Do I stay here and have to go under the radar and hide from the government?’ I wouldn’t wish it on anyone to face that decision.”

Vasquez, the Salvadoran who has lived in the U.S. for nearly 20 years, said she’s worried about being forced to choose what to do. She said even an extension of her TPS status would not be enough; she wants a path to legal permanent residence.

“I’m American because I’m from El Salvador, and El Salvador is Central America,” Vasquez said. “I consider this country to be my country. This is my land because I’m American also. That’s it.”



Photo Credit: Nancy Vasquez
This story uses functionality that may not work in our app. Click here to open the story in your web browser.
Viewing all 57608 articles
Browse latest View live




Latest Images