Feds aid Sept. 11 victims' illegal-immigrant relatives

NEW YORK (AP) - About 25 illegal immigrants who have lived in legal limbo for years after losing relatives in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks will be able to apply for legal status without fearing deportation, officials said.

The immigrants whose spouses or parents died in the attacks have gotten payments averaging $2.1 million from the federal Sept. 11 Victim Compensation Fund, but have had trouble investing the proceeds because they were in the country illegally, their lawyers say.

Their status has made their attorneys hesitant even to provide information to immigration authorities and congressional representatives working on the issue, said one of the lawyers, Debra Brown Steinberg.

The Department of Homeland Security will consider giving the relatives a temporary humanitarian parole that would let them live and work in the United States, Assistant Secretary Stewart A. Baker told Steinberg in a letter. The department will let the applicants provide their biographical information and immigration histories with assurances that the data will not be used to deport them, he wrote.

"These families share an experience with the American people that is among the most significant in American history," Baker told The New York Times in an interview Thursday. "We felt they deserved an opportunity to make their case in the most effective way."

Applicants with criminal records, ties to terrorism or formal deportation orders would not be eligible for the parole, Baker wrote. Steinberg said most, perhaps all, of the relatives would qualify.

A proposal to grant permanent residency to the illegal-immigrant relatives stalled in Congress last year. Some Republican House members said they didn't have enough information about the relatives and raised concerns about the possibility of giving legal status to criminals or terrorists.

The compensation fund said 11 victims were illegal immigrants.