Rete

I've been reading the INS this afternoon and found this on the front page:







September 21, 2001

Statement by INS Commissioner James Ziglar

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Immigration and Naturalization Service Commissioner James Ziglar released the following statement encouraging undocumented aliens who may have lost friends or family in the New York City terrorist attack to contact local authorities without fear of INS attempting to acquire or use that information for immigration purposes:

“All of us in the INS family have been deeply shocked and saddened by the terrible loss of life and destruction in New York. We are committed to supporting the rescue and recovery efforts taking place at the World Trade Center. We have heard disturbing reports that some people whose loved ones are missing have not come forward because of immigration issues. We cannot let that happen. It is crucial that local authorities get the help they need in identifying victims and the missing. I want to personally urge the immigrant community to come forward, and assure everyone that INS will not seek immigration status information provided to local authorities in the rescue and recovery efforts.�



– INS –



Last Modified 09/21/2001

Ameriscot

I think this is just to get an accurate count of those missing. The authorities only know how many are missing because they are reported by relatives. They suspect that there were a large number of illegal aliens in the WTC, and so are encouraging relatives to report them without repercussions from the INS.

The issue with the British family is not that they are undocumented - they are not! It's just that a dependent's visa expires on the death of the main visa holder. There is an additional issue in this case of probate - the wife will lose 60% of the husband's assets to the state. This story was reported in the Sunday Telegraph, which is normally a very reliable source.

Rete

I realize all that you said. I did read the post and the article. However the INS page states it will not give the information to local authorities which leads one to wonder how and where INS got their information from in order to expedite deportation notice to this particular family.

If the story is correct, apparently the husband did not find out all the ramifications of his death while he and his family were still only recipients of a work visa and subsequent dependent visas. This is sad as he appears to have thought his death would leave his family with untouched insurance proceeds and a home to continue living in.

I recall a post from the olden days ('98) where someone in the almost same situation was facing almost the same consequences regarding deportation and tax/social security issues. But they never came back with the results of this person's fight to remain in the US and collect social security benefits for herself (no children if I recall correctly).

Rita

Ameriscot

I think the woman contacted the INS herself.