New York City Comptroller William C. Thompson, Jr. is urging U.S. Department of Homeless Security Secretary Tom Ridge to extend “temporary protected status” for the Montserrat nationals who fled to the United States after the devastating eruption of the island’s volcano in 1997.

Thompson additionally is urging the Chairmen of the U.S. House of Representatives’ Committee on the Judiciary and Subcommittee on Immigration, Border Security and Claims to pass H.R. 603, a bill that would allow Montserrat nationals to adjust to permanent residence status

The Montserrat nationals “were forced to flee their homeland and overcome the challenges of providing for themselves and their families in a foreign land,” Thompson wrote. “To force these people to leave now after so many years would have a disastrous effect on their lives.”

“They have settled in this country socially, economically and educationally, and are pursuing their version of the American dream…To force them to leave now, along with their U.S. born children, will only add to the trauma that they experienced before settling here in the U.S.”

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