Guatemalans Unhappy with US Refusal
Disillusion prevails in Guatemalan circles after a high US official said her government would not concede a Temporary Protection Statute to Guatemalan immigrants.

Guatemalan Executive authorities, including President Oscar Berger, saw their hopes vanish at the end of a meeting with US Undersecretary of State for Public and Foreign Affairs Karen Hughes.

Hughes visited Guatemala to evaluate the damage from Tropical Storm Stan and to decide on how to help the more than 3.5 million people in this Central American nation.

However in her statements Hughes dismissed any Washington agreement to a request by the Guatemalan government, supported by other Central American nations and PARLACEN (Central American Parliament), to grant that status to Guatemalan immigrants.

The status, known as Temporary Protected Status (TPS) was requested by the Guatemalan government for more than 400,000 illegal immigrants, so they could contribute to the reconstruction of Guatemala.

Hughes met with President Berger, Vice President Eduardo Stein, and Foreign Minister Jorge Briz privately and said the US would continue helping families affected by the storm.

But she made it clear that TPS status would not be given to Guatemalan illegals, since the US government has "invested a lot of money in reinforcing its national borders" to stop illegal immigration.

"Different sectors collaborate with us toward this objective, and one of them is the private sector," she said.

She pointed out that private donations from US citizens to purchase lands or create a system to give little scholarships to working children might be fostered, but that is just an idea.

Data from the International Organization for Migration reveal that nearly 1.2 million Guatemalans live in the US, 60 percent of them illegal.

Hughes visited the departments of San Marcos, Solola and Suchitepequez, the most affected by Stan in Guatemala, in the company of Guatemalan Foreign Minister Jorge Briz, before departing to Honduras.