Expatriate Bangladeshis have proposed that the government of Bangladesh take the initiative to help stop the deportation of Bangladeshis from the United States. In a meeting on December 28, held at the offices of the N.Y. Bangladesh Society, a diverse group of Bangladeshis, representing different socio-economic classes, stated that Foreign Affairs Adviser Dr. Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury should visit Washington, as the representative of the Chief Adviser of Bangladesh Dr. Fakhruddin Ahmed, to discuss the matter with the U.S. government.
A resolution worked out at the meeting points to the fact that more than 50,000 Bangladeshis are currently in the process of being deported from the United States. If they are deported now, they would face a more vulnerable situation in Bangladesh, which was recently battered by Hurricane Sidr. This calamity, known to all quarters in the U.S Administration, prompted the U.S. Congress to unanimously pass relief legislation and urged that the victims should be shown all out sympathy.
Former chairman of the Bangladesh Society Iftakher Hussain, a principal speaker at meeting, announced that a few days prior to the gathering, Foreign Affairs Adviser Dr. Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury had written a letter to U.S. Foreign Secretary Condoleezza Rice, urging her to bring the Bangladeshis under the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) program; however, Mr. Hussain said that just sending a letter is not enough and encouraged an active initiative be made by contacting the higher authorities of the United States, including Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
Iftakher Hussain recalled that in 2003 the fate of more than 100,000 Bangladeshis became uncertain following the introduction of Special Registration by U.S. immigration authorities. At that time, Foreign Minister Murshed Khan visited Washington D.C and played an important role. He stressed that the foreign affairs adviser could also play an important role in the present situation.
The Immigration Act of 1990 declared that the deportation of undocumented immigrants can be postponed, for a certain period, to any country that is battered by natural disaster or civil strife. In the past, illegal immigrants from Nicaragua and other Central and South American countries have obtained TPS, and in some cases even received green cards. With the situation now prevailing in Bangladesh, Bangladeshis may be eligible for Temporary Protection Status. In order for this to take place, an administrative order issued by the Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff is required.
Meanwhile, a high-level advisory committee was formed at the meeting to maintain contact with and to lobby the Bush Administration. Nargis Ahmed, president of Bangladesh Society, and General Secretary Zainul Abedin will head the committee. Other members of the advisory committee include: Chairman of the Advisory Committee Iftakher Hussain; Haji Obaidul Haque, president of Brooklyn Business Association; Haroon Bhuiyan, director of the Jackson Heights Business Association; Azharul Haque Milon, a leader of the Society; Fakhrul Alam; former Secretary Soud Chowdhury, and Ali Imam, a dramatist and community activist; and the main coordinator will be activist Kazi Azam.
Organizing Secretary of the Bangladesh Society Minhaj Uddin Babar said that some people with connections with mainstream media have also been inducted in the committee. As well, immigration attorneys have come forward to start lobbying in favor of the TPS program.
With Congress’ calamitous failure to pass comprehensive immigration reform in June 2007, the push to arrest and deport 12 million illegal immigrants has been strengthened, with several hundred thousand illegal immigrants, including Bangladeshis, already deported. In the last few months, several hundred Bangladeshis have been arrested. What is more, 50,000 Bangladeshi immigrants presently live under threat of being deported along with their family members.
In Los Angeles, South Asian Network, a grassroots, community-based organization, sent a letter to the Bush Administration demanding that Bangladeshis be included under the TPS program. They also urged Bangladeshi Americans to create pressure on the Bush Administration through their congressman and senators. Meanwhile, in this regard, a request letter was delivered to the Bangladesh Desk of the State Department by the Bangladeshi Mission in Washington, at the instruction of Dhaka authorities.
