Used with permission by Dennis Dodd, CBSSports.com Senior Writer
There are options for the Zehyoue family. Political asylum. Last-minute assistance from the government. They have a lawyer. But, really, things are getting desperate.
“We’re really concerned,” said Anthony Zehyoue, a former LSU defensive end who played on the 2007 national championship team.
The Baton Rouge, La., family has accomplished as much as any of their American counterparts. Dad Anthony Sr., is a teacher with a Ph.D. Anthony Jr. has followed in his footsteps. He is getting his master’s in secondary education and currently is student teaching at a local high school. During his spare time, Anthony Jr. helped coach the fifth-grade football team of an LSU staffer.
Another Zehyoue child is a social worker. Two others attended Morehouse University and Southern University.
There are five Zehyoue children, four of them born in their parents’ native Liberia. They’ve stayed here under Temporary Protective Status for almost two decades. TPS is granted to foreign nationals whose countries are at war and/or involved in human rights abuses.
But on March 31 the Zehyoue’s visas expire. They are among 10,000 or so Liberians who have been living in the U.S. after fleeing their country because of civil war. For almost two decades, each president has extended the status each year. In September 2007, George Bush extended TPS 18 months. The extension runs out at the end of this month.
Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) co-sponsored legislation, that never made it to law, to help the Liberians. Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.) has an interest in the situation because of his state’s large Liberian population. The Union of Liberian Associations in the Americas has been pursuing legislation on Capitol Hill.
To read the full article, please visit CBSsports.com.