"We're urging people to register."

Ana Santiago, spokeswoman for the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, CIS, was directing her fervent appeal to Haitians across the United States. She wants them to apply for Temporary Protected Status, TPS, which would allow those nationals of the Caribbean nation who were in the United States when the devastating earthquake struck Haiti on January 12 to remain in the United States indefinitely.

Actually, her appeal was made necessary because with the July 20 deadline less than six weeks away, only 51,000 of the estimated 100,000 to 200,000 eligible Haitians have sent in their applications.

The U.S. authorities explained that as of June 4, they had processed 51,882 applications, at least half of them in Florida. At the same time, though, the Department of Homeland Security had rejected 11 percent of them because they were either incomplete or applicants had failed to pay the required fees, which in some cases can amount to $470.

As immigration advocates explain it, some key things are worrying Haitians, forcing many to sidestep the offer of TPS, which would allow them to live and work legally in the country. The first is that many Haitians simply don't have the money to pay the fees. Second, some believe that if they provide the American authorities with information about their residence, it would make it relatively easy for the government to track them down later on. Then there is the issue of actual benefit. In short, says Gepsie Metellus, executive director of the Haitian community center in Miami, far too many people don't believe TPS would do a better job of improving living conditions.

"All we can do is to debunk the myths that are out there," Metellus told a reporter. "We encourage people to apply and point out that the government knows where you are now. And they've got bigger fish to fry."

That's where Santiago's plea comes in.

"We understand this community is going through incredible hardship," she said. "We're urging people to please register, because this is something that will help you deal with the situation."

After years of appealing in vain to successive U.S. governments to give Haitians TPS, authorities in Port-au-Prince were relieved when the Obama Administration, at the urging of several U.S. elected officials, including Congressional Representatives Ed Towns (D-NY 10), Charlie Rangel (D-NY), Yvette Clarke D-NY 11) and Gregory Meeks (D-NY 16), granted the Creole-speaking immigrants the concession, shortly after the earthquake had struck. It left 250,000 dead, 1.3 million homeless and caused at least $6 billion in damage to the country's roads, hospitals, clinics, schools, government ministries and private buildings.

The White House went [sic] step further and stopped booting out Haitians who were either in detention centers or had received deportation orders. In all, 31,000 were affected by that decision.

However, the U.S. Coast Guard is turning back Haitians who are attempting to flee their country and are caught at sea.

Now, the job is to encourage thousands of Haitians already in the United States to make the move and apply.

The Haitian Community Center is offering small loans to some people eligible for TPS so they can pay the fees. Others are saving their money, hoping to have enough to apply by the deadline. That would eliminate the necessity to borrow or even to ask the United States to waive the fees.