As the 10-year anniversary of he 9/11 attacks at the World Trade Center approaches, immigrants who lost close relatives and did not have green cards at the time are still waiting to receive them.
Today, 12 of these immigrants, whose family members died while working at the Windows on the World restaurant in the ill-fated towers, are still fighting to stay in the country where their loved ones perished, but their lawyer says her clients fight should not be compared the greater immigration debate going on in the U.S.
“These families are a part of our history,” said lawyer Debra Steinberg.“This is the right thing to do for these families.”
As of 2008, the immigrants have been in the country with special temporary status, which meant they had to reapply every year. Last year, they were given a two-year reprieve from having t reapply, but lawyers have been fighting for ten years to pass bills granting them green cards, so far to no avail.
While the families were compensated by the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund, they were not presented with a path to citizen.
