As the majority of students packed their bags for a week of fun-filled adventures with no schoolwork to worry about, more than a dozen Wake Forest University School of Law students flew to Miami, Fla., to help Haitians obtain temporary legal status and U.S. work permits.

In response to January’s devastating earthquake, the Obama Administration announced that Haitians would be permitted to apply for Temporary Protected Status (TPS). Having this status means Haitians can legally work in the United States for up to 18 months. TPS is only available for Haitians who were already in the U.S. on Jan. 12, when the earthquake hit, according to Professor Margaret Taylor, who is an expert in immigration law at Wake Forest Law School.

The Secretary of Homeland Security may designate a foreign country for TPS due to conditions in the country that temporarily prevent the country’s nationals from returning safely, or in certain circumstances, where the country is unable to handle the return of its nationals adequately.

USCIS may grant TPS to eligibile nationals of certain countries (or parts of countries), who are already in the United States. Eligible individuals without nationality who last resided in the designated country may also be granted TPS.

The Department of Homeland Security said it would offer Haitian nationals, who were already here when Tuesday’s earthquake struck, Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for 18 months.

That status, which would allow them to legally work, will not cover Haitians who flee their country following the devastating 7.0 m agnitude earthquake that resulted in as many as 50,000 deaths and left its capital, Port-au-Prince, in ruins.

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said it’s “tempting for people suffering in the aftermath of the earthquake to seek refuge elsewhere” but that “attempting to leave Haiti now will only bring more hardship to the Haitian people and nation.”

“My understanding is that the change in policy may allow for as many as 200,000 immigrants who were already in the U.S. to obtain the right to legally live and work in the U.S. for 18 months,” Lennox said. “This is creating an increased demand for volunteers willing to help operate clinics that would process applications.

These students began their volunteer work on March 8 by assisting with the mounting applications caused by the shift in U.S. immigration policy.

They also worked in conjunction with the University of Miami School Of Law Immigration Clinic.

This trip was organized by second year law student Michael Lennox who is also a member of the Pro Bono Committee.   According to Professor Taylor, “Lennox was instrumental in sparking a nationwide effort to bring law students to assist Haitians in Miami over spring break.”  He has been coordinating the trip with Miami Law Professor Rebeca Sharpless who plugged Wake Forest students into clinical activities that were undertaken by several immigration law organizations in the Miami area.

“At the official event launching Wake’s new pro bono initiative, just one week after the earthquake, Michael announced his idea to organize this trip,” Taylor said. “I then posted a message to a list serve of immigration law professors to see if other schools were interested in doing the same. The response was overwhelming, and it was Michael’s initiative that got the ball rolling in Miami and elsewhere for law students across the country to join this effort.”