IMMIGRATION
From Castro foe to U.S. citizen
BY ALFONSO CHARDY
achardy@ElNuevoHerald.com
When Eustacio Guevara languished in Cuban prisons for actions against
the Fidel Castro regime, he never imagined that one day he would become
a U.S. citizen.
That day arrived Friday when Guevara, smiling and happy, swore
allegiance to the United States along with 197 other immigrants during
an hour-long ceremony at the Miami field office of U.S. Citizenship and
Immigration Services.
He waved a small American flag and put his hand over his heart when the
national anthem was played. He also cheered and clapped when a USCIS
official declared the group U.S. citizens.
Guevara's naturalization, however, was more than just a personal
achievement.
It will help him restore monthly federal disability income cut off
earlier this year when Guevara, 61, failed to become a U.S. citizen
within seven years of arriving in the United States.
He plans to go to the Social Security office as soon as possible and
show the naturalization certificate he received at the end of the
citizenship ceremony.
With that, the Social Security Administration will be able to restore
permanently Guevara's monthly $505 Supplemental Security Income check,
said Oscar Alvarez, the Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center staffer who
assisted Guevara in his case.
``I feel happy and grateful and now that I am an American citizen I also
feel calm after all the stress I went through when they stopped the
benefits,'' Guevara told El Nuevo Herald after the ceremony. ``Now I
feel fully a part of this country that gave me refuge.''
Alvarez said he was glad for Guevara, but noted that the happy ending
was an isolated outcome.
``There are thousands of refugees all across the country in the same
circumstance,'' Alvarez said. ``And it's not just Cubans. It's refugees
from many parts of the world, including war zones.''
Also, said Alvarez, many of these refugees don't speak English and have
limited resources.
As a result, many cannot afford citizenship fees or are not lucky
enough, like Guevara, to receive assistance from groups like FIAC, an
immigrant rights organization in Miami.
While Guevara did not have to pay the $595 naturalization fee, because
he got a waiver, many other refugees are not aware of the benefit.
Guevara is among almost 4,000 refugees from Cuba and other countries who
were scheduled to lose SSI by Oct. 1 because they were in violation of a
federal law that requires disabled foreign refugees to become citizens
within seven years of arrival if they want to continue receiving SSI.
Before arriving in the United States as a refugee in 2000, Guevara had
spent 14 years in Cuban jails as a political prisoner.
He says he didn't become a U.S. citizen before because no one told him
he had to become a citizen, and no one gave him a deadline to do so.
In August, Guevara received a letter from the Social Security
Administration warning that his SSI was about to end.
Guevera was desperate because he depends on SSI to pay rent on his
modest apartment in Allapattah.
Alvarez was able to restore Guevara's benefits temporarily when he
submitted proof that Guevara had filed for naturalization.
But the temporary restoration was only good for a year until Guevara
became a citizen.
The SSI cut-off is the result of a 1996 law that requires citizenship
for disabled foreign refugees who receive certain federal benefits.
In 2003, a similar situation developed when the first wave of refugees
to arrive since the law took effect reached the seven-year maximum.
Originally, the law set a five-year limit for SSI-qualified foreign
refugees to become citizens, but the deadline was lengthened to seven
years because at the time immigration authorities took longer to process
naturalizations.
At then-President George W. Bush's urging, Congress in 2008 agreed to a
two-year reprieve of the benefits' cutoff date -- until this past Oct. 1.
Immigrant rights advocates had hoped that Congress would have extended
SSI benefits before adjourning in September, but didn't. It's unclear if
the lame-duck Congress will vote on an extension.
For now, however, Guevara's plight has been resolved.
Besides registering for permanent SSI, Guevara also plans to do what
many newly-naturalized U.S. citizens do after getting their citizenship
certificates.
``I'm going to register to vote, and vote in the next election,''
Guevara said.
http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/11/20/1936063/from-castro-foe-to-us-citizen.html
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